Louise Davis McMahon

Louise Davis McMahon studied music as a young girl and quickly became a talented pianist. She married Eugene P. McMahon in her parent's home in Kansas in 1892 and in 1895 they welcomed their only child, Eugene Davis.

In 1901, the family was among the first residents to make a home in Lawton. McMahon became known locally as a beloved piano teacher. In addition to her passion for music, she was a painter, writer, and volunteer spending a considerable amount of time bettering her community. In 1949, McMahon was awarded the Mother of the Year Award by the Oklahoma Mother's Association of the American Mother's Committee of the Golden Rule Foundation. In 1940 she and her son established the McMahon Foundation in Comanche County in honor of her late husband.

McMahon led the foundation's project of building the McMahon Auditorium in Lawton in 1953 and in 1957 a $300,000 grant from the McMahon Foundation was used to build the Museum of the Great Plains, with collections that cover not only Oklahoma History and family papers, but also Oklahoma musical history and the history of Lawton's social and cultural clubs since their beginnings. Since its inception in 1940, the McMahon Foundation has perpetuated the McMahon family's legacy with over $75 million being granted for the benefit of others.