Ranching has been part of the Ingersoll family since 1915 when the late Win Ingersoll’s great-grandfather, Robert McFarlin, started the McFarlin Ranch in Inola, Oklahoma. The ranch was one of the first and largest Oklahoma ranches in the 1900s and continues to thrive today under the guidance of Win Ingersoll’s widow, Kay, and the couple’s family.

 

Both Win and Kay Ingersoll attended OSU in the early 1960s, where they reconnected before marrying in 1965. After their wedding, the couple took over the ranch as the fourth generation to manage operations. That family tradition has carried on to their daughters, Joleta Ingersoll and Wendy Keener, and Kay Ingersoll hopes it continues to her four grandchildren.

 

Agriculture and OSU had major impacts on the Ingersoll family as both daughters also graduated from the university. The Ingersolls joined the New Frontiers campaign, which continues to raise funds for the new teaching, research and Extension facility for OSU Agriculture. They also created an endowment to fund scholarships in the OSU Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management and make their ranch available for wildlife research.

 

Before Win Ingersoll’s passing in 2020, the couple decided to become Cornerstone Donors together, and now the Academic Suite on the first floor of the New Frontiers Agricultural Hall will pay homage to Kay Ingersoll’s beloved husband.