Edmond Champions of Character

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Terry Phillips-Billen and Herb Magley received the Champion of Character Award for their generosity at Vault 405 on Monday, April 27, 2026. Present for the short ceremony were Character Council board members Diane Krakowski, Stephanie Carel and Gloria Baumann.

In her nomination Stephanie Carel, said, “This Dynamic Duo pours their heart and soul in Alzheimer's Awareness and supports many other worthwhile causes. Both have lost loved ones to the disease. Not only do they take charge of the Downtown Edmond Alzheimer’s Awareness Week, they also do it statewide and nationwide. I have never met two more generous people. They provide financially of course, but their inner generosity is inspiring.”

Terry grew up in Ohio. She majored in art and taught at a private boarding school. She eventually got into public relations work. Then moved to Oklahoma and worked for the Skirvin Hotel, in OKC until the last year they were open prior to the renovation. The last 14 years of her career she was with Junior Achievement. During that time her husband, Bud, had Alzheimer’s and she cared for him for eight years.

Bud passed in 2022 he was a well-known musician in town. He had a big band and played at the country clubs. Terry said, “I remember the night he played at Quail Creek. He walked out the door, and he threw his trumpet in the back seat and said, 'I'm done.' A week later he handed me the car keys. He knew.” He remembered when he and Terry had to take the keys from his mom. He chose to relinquish his keys and spare Terry the heartache.

During COVID-19, Terry stayed home to work and care for Bud. Everything was locked down and she had no help. One night Bud got out of the house. Terry said, “Thank God a policeman found him and brought him home. They gave me tips that I’d never even thought about. Such as alarms and ID bracelets. You know if I’d found the Alzheimer’s Association, I would’ve already had that kind of help."

Herb grew up in Ohio and received a master’s degree in geology from Indiana University. He worked for Mitchell Energy for 27 years, until they sold out to Devon. Herb, his wife Gail and their 16-year-old daughter, Bethany, moved to Edmond. He worked for Devon for 13 years before he retired. 

Herb and Gail found a key to a successful marriage through their humor.  Herb said, “She was a Phi Beta Kappa, the one you didn’t want in your class. She was going to mess up the curve.” Their lives changed after Gail was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. When a friend invited him to attend a support group meeting. Herb said, “No, I have a full-time job, a teenaged daughter and a wife with the disease. I don’t have time.” 

The friend said, “You better make time then.”

Herb said, “I’d never heard of the Alzheimer's Association. We looked for cure and there wasn’t any. We looked for hope and couldn’t find any. We looked for help and I stumbled into the Alzheimer’s Association and that really saved my life.” 

The support group that Herb and Gail attended still exists today. They provided education in addition to support. Herb found they knew more about the disease than the doctors. Gail enjoyed attending and found it useful even after she lost her ability to talk. Herb said, “We’d go to dinner after our support groups. We not only got to know the caregivers, but we also got to know the people with the disease.” 

About 10 years into their 11-year Alzheimer’s journey, Herb started a list. Herb said, “I’d stepped on every landmine there was on caregiving because caregiving for this disease is so different than anything else. So, I wrote down the 10 things I wish I’d known the day she’d been diagnosed that would’ve made our journey so much easier.” Later, he invited others to give their input, and it expanded to the 25 Rules for Alzheimer’s Caregivers. His list is provided free of charge to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices to hand out.

Herb got more involved with the Alzheimer’s Association after Gail passed. For three years he gave speeches all over the country. He was elected to the board of directors to the Alzheimer’s Associations Oklahoma Chapter.

He discovered his passion was in helping caregivers. He continues to lead five support groups. Herb said, “One out of every five Alzheimer’s family caregivers die before their loved one that they are taking care of. In all the time that I’ve been doing this, which has been about 12 years, I’ve never seen us lose a caregiver. But they’ve got to get help somehow. The ones we lose are ones who try to do it by themselves at home alone and it just doesn’t work.” 

Terry and Herb met online through a dating service. They matched on four different sites.

Terry said, “He had been heavily involved with the Alzheimer's association. I was looking for something to do with my time to volunteer and give back. I only moved to Edmond last year, but I’ve been involved in the Edmond community the last two or three. Herb's been doing this for 15 years. He's really made me a better person to give back.”

For years Herb had an idea to promote Alzheimer’s awareness by decorating Downtown Edmond with purple balloons, flags and ribbons. He envisioned stringing lights in the trees and setting up tables to hand out valuable information to caregivers and the actual patients. 

Herb said, “I just never could get with the right person until I met Stephanie. I told her what I was trying to do.” Stephanie presented the idea to the Downtown Edmond Business Association’s next board meeting and they approved it.

Terry said, “For the last several years, we’ve been Turning Edmond Purple. This year it’s May 18-23. What time? Monday through Friday. On Saturday we’re at the Farmer's Market from 8-1.” Eunice Khoury comes out and does her Saturday radio broadcast, “Well Preserved,” remotely to promote the event. 

Terry said, “We have a table. We move it every three hours during that week. It has all kinds of resources and pamphlets, including Herb’s 25 Rules. It’s amazing how many people come out that are struggling and don't have a clue that there is help out there.”

Both Herb and Terry expressed appreciation for Edmondites, for those who volunteer and for the businesses who are so supportive. Many of the businesses do special activities to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association. 

Terry said, “One thing that I would recommend. A lot of people are retiring, and they go home and sit and don’t do anything. There is no reason why every retiree can't volunteer for a few hours. Find your passion and give back.”

Stephanie said, “Not only do they support the Alzheimer’s Association, but they also give financially and physically to all the fundraisers we are promoting. I have never seen such amazing people.”

The Alzheimer Association’s 1-800-272-3900 help line provides answers to questions and access to trained counselors free of charge.

The Character Council of Edmond, a grassroots nonprofit organization, is committed to creating a citywide initiative to build Edmond into a “community of character." To learn more about the Character Council or to nominate a citizen as a Champion of Character, for someone who exemplifies the current month’s featured character trait, go to www.edmondcharacter.org or write: Champions of Character, PO Box 392, Edmond OK 73083-0392

Pictured: Terry Phillips-Billen and Herb Magley 

Please complete the form located on our website to recognize an EDMOND citizen for a specific character trait. Forms may be submitted from the website or mailed to the 

Character Council of Edmond 

Champions of Character

PO Box 392 

Edmond, OK 73083-0392.

or contact: Gloria Baumann  contact@edmondcharacter.org 

Champions of Character Honorees

2014 to Present:

• Malena Putnam Discipline March, 2026
• Lauren Vargas Gratefulness February, 2026
• Steve Wilson Initiative December, 2025
• Robert Launhardt Forgiveness June, 2025
• Dena Jones Diligence January, 2025
• Tyler Shaw Trustworthiness December, 2024
• Jennifer Thornton Thoroughness October, 2024
• Linda de la Garza Loyalty August, 2024
• Amanda Jenson Positivity February, 2024
• Perry Sneed Dependability November, 2023
• Irene Liang   Punctuality October, 2023
• Jeff Morefield Courage July, 2023
• Shaun Pryor Flexibility June 2023
• Diana Pate Generosity April, 2023
• Jim Hulsey Enthusiasm March, 2023
• Carol Anderson Orderliness September, 2022
• Susan Isaacs Patience June, 2022
• Stephanie Carel Creativity April, 2022
• Salvador Garcia Trustworthiness March, 2022
• Beth Conner Diligence March, 2022
• Darrell Davis Respect January, 2022
• Judy Pike Thoroughness December, 2021
• Gary Wallace Loyalty September, 2021
• Sondra Reid Availability August, 2021
• Becky Crow Honesty March 2021
• Justin Rowley Positivity February, 2021
• Laura Liles Resilience December, 2020
• Pete Reeser  Courage December, 2020
• Amy Stephens Dependability  December, 2020
• Michelle Schaefer Discipline June, 2020
• Dick Opalka Generosity February, 2019
• Yara Ford  Attentiveness  March, 2019
• Chrislyn Sperry  Respect   January, 2019
• Kathryn Olds Persuasiveness  November, 2018
• Jill Castilla  Creativity  September, 2018
• Maureen Coury Compassion  January, 2018
• KC Williams Dependability October, 2017
• David Ford  Humility  July, 2017
• Steve Bowlware Enthusiasm, March, 2017
• Laura McGee Truthfulness, April,  2017  
• Richard Killgore  Generosity  February, 2017
• Peggy Geib Gratefulness  January, 2017 
• Dustin & Erikka Ault  Initiative  January, 2017
• Chris Waugh  Initiative  January, 2017 
• Nathan Walters  Orderliness  November, 2016 
• Kris Rush  Diligence  March, 2016 
• Jason Henley Compassion  January, 2016 
• Ray Vaughn Dependability  August, 2015 
• Jean Holt  Sensitivity  April, 2015 
• Brian Maughan  Availability  April, 2015 
• Chris Shorow  Joyfulness  October, 2014 
• Virginia Peters  Endurance  September, 2014 
• Bea Sprouse  Discretion  August, 2014 
• Krista Law  Creativity  July, 2014 
• Cora Stamps  Initiative  January, 2014