Foster Brooks Parriott was known as “F. B.” or “Foss” to his friends and family members, and he was an early leader in the oil industry that boomed in Tulsa at the turn of the 20th Century. He began his career as an employee of Standard Oil before forming Transcontinental Oil Company with two partners and later moving on to serve as director and chairman of the board of Sunray Oil Company.
F. B. and his wife, Kathleen C. “Casey” Parriott, also served as civic and philanthropic leaders as Tulsa grew and prospered with a burgeoning oil industry, and F. B. was deeply interested in the education and advancement of young people. He was a devoted family man with three sons, Robert Benedum Parriott, Jackson Clark Parriott, and Van Caldwell Parriott.
After F. B. Parriott passed away in 1957, his widow and three sons wished to honor his memory and extend his philanthropic legacy by establishing a trust fund to support scholarships for TU graduate students. Beginning in 1958, the F. B. Parriott Educational Fund was administered by banks, and it helped many deserving graduate students reach their educational goals at The University of Tulsa.
In 2016, representatives of the F. B. Parriott Educational Fund wished to terminate the trust and distribute its assets to The University of Tulsa, giving the University discretion to establish an endowed scholarship fund, and this fund is known as the F. B. Parriott Educational Endowment Fund. As in the past, scholarships from this fund are based on financial need, with a preference for graduate students.
In 1981, Robert Parriott established the Kathleen C. Parriott Scholarship for Music and Voice for undergraduate music students in honor of his stepmother. This fund was later fortified by a gift from Kathleen’s estate. Kathleen Parriott had been born in Kentucky and raised in Palestine, Texas. She graduated from St. Mary’s College in San Antonio in 1912 and married F. B. Parriott in 1927.
Kathleen Parriott gave generously to enhance Tulsa’s cultural affairs, particularly art and music. She gave both her financial resources and her time, serving on the boards of the Philbrook Museum of Art, St. Simeon’s Episcopal Home, Trinity Episcopal Church, the Tulsa Philharmonic, and the Tulsa Opera Guild. She also was a member of the Tulsa Patroness Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, a women’s music organization. With her passing on November 19, 1991, Tulsa lost one of its great cultural patrons.
The University of Tulsa is deeply grateful to the Parriott family for their exceptional and heartfelt philanthropy, which continues to help TU students achieve their goals and aspirations.
