Alex Adwan

Adwan Alex K. Adwan, retired Senior Editor of the Tulsa World, passed away peacefully in his sleep on June 15, 2024, in Edmond, Oklahoma, following a brief illness.

Alex was born in Maud, Oklahoma on April 14, 1930, to Fred and Lois Harkey Adwan, Alex attended both high school and junior college at the Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore. Alex got his start in journalism at OMA, serving as editor of the Guidon newspaper and the Vedette yearbook at OMA. After graduating from junior college in 1948, Alex continued his education at the University of Oklahoma where he earned his journalism degree in 1950.

After graduating from OU, Alex joined the Army in 1950 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Alex requested a transfer to the 45th Division where many of his former OMA classmates were assigned. Alex hoped to serve on a reconnaissance team with the 45th, but was assigned to a tank battalion as a platoon commander. Shortly after, the 45th was called to active duty in Korea where Alex served for over two years. During his time in Korea, Alex was promoted to captain and for a short time was the youngest captain in the U.S. Army. Alex was awarded a Bronze Star with a “V” for leading his company across enemy lines to support a South Korean infantry division in securing key fortified positions held by the Chinese. Ironically, Alex had been scheduled to return home the day before the action for which he was awarded the Bronze Star but chose to stay behind to lead his company in what was his final combat operation.

After returning from Korea in 1952, Alex worked for several small newspapers, including the Wewoka Times, the Pauls Valley Daily Democrat, and the Seminole Producer, of which he became co-publisher and managing editor. In 1960 Alex joined United Press International as bureau manager in Tulsa, Houston and Oklahoma City. While in Houston, Alex covered the early years of the space program and wrote notable stories on the last Mercury mission and President Kenedy’s promise to send a man to the moon by the end of the decade.

Alex joined the Tulsa World as Washington correspondent in 1967 and reported on several major events during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In Washington, Alex was reunited with his friends Carter and Loretta Bradley, whom he had met while Carter was working for UPI in Oklahoma City. Shortly after his move to Washington, Alex was looking for an apartment and the Bradleys’ daughter, Teresa, offered to help him find one since she was familiar with the D.C. area. Shortly after, Alex and Teresa started dating and were married in September 1967 in Oklahoma City.

In 1972,Alex was named as Associate Editor of the Tulsa World and he and Teresa relocated to Tulsa where they lived for over 50 years. In 1981, Alex became editor of the editorial pages for the World and held that position until his retirement in 1994. In 1994, Alex was named Senior Editor of the Tulsa World. In that position, he wrote a weekly column that often focused on historical subjects and their relation to current news. During his years working at the Tulsa World Alex worked with many wonderful people, including friend Ken Neal, whom Alex often referred to as his bother.

In 1991 Alex was inducted into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, and in 1995, Alex received the Oklahoma Press Association’s Beach Musselman Award for outstanding contributions to newspaper journalism. Alex was also honored as a distinguished graduate of the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism and the Oklahoma Military Academy. In 1996, he was named a Jefferson Fellow of Rogers State University, the institution’s highest honor, for his support of higher education. He received the Oklahoma Education Association’s Marshall Gregory Award for Educational Media Excellence and was the 2001 recipient of the RSU Constitution Award, for his exemplary commitment to perpetuating the principles of the United States Constitution. In 2002 Alex was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Academy Hall of Fame.

Alex and Teresa enjoyed traveling, fishing and serving on several civic boards and committees. But they enjoyed most being around one another and their many friends. Shortly before his death, Alex and Teresa moved to Edmond, Oklahoma.

Alex was preceded in death by his parents, Fred and Lois Adwan of Seminole. He is survived by his loving wife, Teresa, his sister, Elizabeth Robertson, nephew Rob Robertson and wife Mary, nephew Bruce Robertson and his wife Lisa, all of Edmond, Oklahoma. Alex also left several great nieces and nephews, including Alex and Rachel Robertson of Dallas, Elizabeth (Bizzy) and Cole Hooper of Edmond, and Anna, Wesley and John David Robertson, all of Edmond.

Memorial services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 4818 E. 9th Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74112-4240, under the direction of The Reverand Father John Henry Rule. A private internment for the immediate family is scheduled for June 21, 2024 at Maple Grove Cemetery in Seminole, Oklahoma. Swearingen Funeral Home will oversee Alex’s services. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence, https://ofe.org/donate, 5530 N. Western Ave., Suite 100, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118-4003 or the Gilcrease Museum, https://my.gilcrease.org/ donate/i/annualfund, 800 S. Tucker Drive, Tulsa, OK 74104.