Kathleen Flanagan

Classic & Timeless

Kathleen Flanagan, 83, of Walters, Oklahoma, passed away on April 14, 2026. She was born on October 10, 1942, in Eagle Pass, Texas, to Funston P. Flanagan and Frances R. (Novotny) Flanagan while they were stationed there. She later lived in Chickasha for a short while and then grew up in Walters, Oklahoma. In 1960, she graduated from Walters High School and attended OSU, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Fashion Merchandising in 1964.

Soon after graduation, Kathleen married Paul Clark and to that marriage were born her beloved children, Matthew P. Clark and Margaret Lea Clark. The family moved to Grand Prairie, Texas, and she worked for a time as an Assistant Buyer for Sanger Harris Department Store in Dallas. Later, the family moved to Edmond, Oklahoma where she was director of a daycare center. She was a proud and active Democrat, and worked for various campaigns during her lifetime.

While working as a social worker, Kathleen attended law school and earned her Juris Doctor from Oklahoma City University in 1976. Always an advocate for vulnerable individuals and populations, Kathleen served as chairman of the Oklahoma Bar Association Committee on Mentally Disabled and on the Board of Directors for the Dale Rogers Center for the Mentally Disabled. A highly capable trial lawyer, she became an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma from 1978 to 1981. She was twice awarded the Outstanding Performance Award from the U.S. Attorney General in 1979. She was admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Kathleen moved back to her hometown and served as an Assistant District Attorney in Comanche County before joining her father in private practice in Walters. She successfully practiced law for over 40 years before her retirement. She was known for her zeal for justice, fierce advocacy on behalf of her clients, and dedication to helping those struggling with mental disability and alcohol and substance use disorder. In 1986, she married the love of her life, Curtis Collins of Temple, Oklahoma, and began a new chapter in her life that would count among the best years of her life.

Kathleen was preceded in death by her husband, Curtis Collins, her daughter, Margaret L. Clark, her parents, Funston and Frances (Novotny) Flanagan, her grandparents, Charles and Maggie (Gillis) Flanagan and Frank and Agnes Novotny, and her sisters, Patricia Flanagan and Mary Glasgow. After the deaths of her husband and daughter, Kathleen lovingly raised her granddaughters, Mariah Clark and Journey Collins.

Beyond the courtroom, Kathleen loved fashion and design and the art of her sister-in-law Carol and music. She was a longtime member of the McDowell Music Club and a devoted parishioner at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Walters.

She is survived by her son, Matthew Clark, and his wife, Valerie Vardell Clark; her grandson, Will Clark, granddaughters, Mariah Clark, Grace Clark, and Journey Collins, stepsons, Rodney Collins, Brian Collins and Jeffery Collins, her siblings, Alice Loftin, The Honorable Michael C. Flanagan and wife, Sherri Thorne Flanagan, Janis Flanagan Darley and husband, Lon J. Darley, III, and Mark G. Flanagan and wife, Mechelle Ramsey Flanagan, her aunt, Peggy Flanagan; and numerous extended family members and friends.

Visitation with rosary will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 6:30 at the Hart-Wyatt Funeral Home in Walters, Oklahoma. The Funeral Mass will be held Monday, April 20, 2026, at 10:00 A.M. at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Walters, Oklahoma, with Father Brannan Lepak officiating. Pallbearers will be Matthew Clark, Will Clark, Michael C. Flanagan, Mark Flanagan, Brian Collins, and Titus Haury. Burial will follow at Walters Cemetery.