Brian Maurice Dell

Brian Maurice Dell passed away on December 1, 2025. Brian was born on June 6, 1941, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to John Thomas Dell and Lillian Dell (Choate). He graduated from Bishop McGuinness High School in Oklahoma City, in 1959 and enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1961, where he was assigned to the U.S. Army Language School in Monterey, California, to study Mandarin Chinese. While there, Brian married Virginia Ann Kemper, a high school classmate. Brian served in Okinawa and at the National Security Agency, Ft. Meade, Maryland, as a translator/interpreter before his enlistment was up in 1964.

Brian worked and used the G.I. Bill to complete college, earning a B.S. in Business at Oklahoma City University, and MSA (accounting) and J.D. degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He held a number of jobs before becoming a lawyer, including that of a merchant seaman, a clerk with the Post Office, a CPA, an accounting professor, and about two dozen more equally diverse jobs. Brian was admitted to the practice of law in Oklahoma in 1977, in Texas in 2004, and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Circuit Courts for the 5th, 9th and 10th Circuits, the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Courts in Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas.

Practicing law was a privilege that Brian enjoyed. He liked to try cases before juries and had about 100 jury trials. Believing that governments had the same obligation to obey the law as the people they govern, he took many civil rights cases and defended criminal cases, as well as pursuing a general civil practice.

Brian’s proudest moment was when he became a father. He was an involved parent, attending all of our sporting events and activities, coaching baseball, cheering us on in soccer, chaperoning school dances, and dressing up as Santa Claus for our elementary school. He taught us how to shoot guns and fix our cars, successfully shepherding us into adulthood as independent beings.

Brian was a strong advocate for civil rights and a proponent for civic participation. He was an ardent supporter of the public school system, despite its flaws, because he believed education was a right. Brian and Ann were instrumental in starting the Mesta Park Neighborhood Association in the early 1970s and were active in that organization for 41 years.

Brian was preceded in death by his wife, Ann. He is survived by his children, Vickie Dell (Jean-Baptiste Casse); Louis Patrick Dell (Maria Dones Dell); and Sarah Rose Dell (Philip Knecht), as well as eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren and many others.

A Memorial Service to celebrate his life will be held on Saturday, January 17th, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Smith and Kernke Chapel, 14624 N. May Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73134. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the ACLU or your local PBS station.