JOHN DELMAR PRIVETT

1946-2019

John D. Privett, a Houston resident for many years, died 2/26/19 in Tahlequah, OK. He was 72 years old. John was born 3/26/46 in Pacific Palisades, CA. He was the second of three children born to John D. and Everett (Harris) Privett. After completing high school in Fullerton,

CA, he served for three years in the US Air Force during the Vietnam war as a linguist. Privett then moved to Texas and earned a degree in Business Administration and received the Wall Street Journal Achievement Award for top business student at Angelo State University. He then went on to earn an MBA at the University of Texas, Austin, where he received the prestigious Lillian Gilbreth Award for top management student. After working briefly as a financial analyst for Ford Motor Company, he returned to Texas and was a senior financial analyst for Texas Comptroller, Bob Bullock. While there, he founded the Texas Guaranteed School Bond Program, and served as an advisor to the legislature on tax issues. From 1979 to 1992, Privett was the president of a non-profit organization that monitored taxation and spending in Houston. It was during this time that Privett became an expert in public school finance and became an advocate for effective learning programs in the public schools. He also served on several boards and commissions in Houston and Austin. In 1992, in a desire to improve Houston’s public schools, Privett founded The Performing Schools Corporations, which was created to improve public schools in the Houston area. Privett, and his former wife Pam, decided to leave Houston and live a more rural life in the beautiful Ozark foothills of Tahlequah, OK. Privett continued consulting in Houston for corporate and government clients, and helped small towns in OK secure needed grants. He was also an adjunct professor at NSU in Tahlequah,

OK. Privett retired in 2008 and spent his time writing many wonderful short stories about small-town life. He also completed a satirical novel on educational reform. He was an avid outdoorsman and a consummate student of history.

Privett is survived by his son Kevin Hurley, and wife Jennifer, and two Grandchildren of Liberty Hill, TX ; Godson John Dillon, Belton TX; sisters Allison Robbins, Newport Beach, CA and Dr. Anne Bosshardt, Oakland,

CA, as well as many friends and family. Johnny will be greatly missed by all.