The J. Lyndall, Robert Fulton and Montie Ray McCrory Foundation was established in 1993 by James Lyndall McCrory, a successful cattle rancher, from Milo, Oklahoma. The foundation was named in part to honor his father, Robert Fulton McCrory, and his mother, Montie Ray McCrory, who settled 15 miles west of Springer, Oklahoma before statehood and established an 8,000-acre cattle ranch, known as R.F. McCrory Ranch, and later an oil and gas business, known as R.F. McCrory and Son.   

Lyndall served as the foreman of the R.F. McCrory Ranch until his father’s death in 1950 when he inherited the ranch and the business. The cattle business along with the mineral interests created a very profitable business for Lyndall, whose assets grew considerably. At the age of 84, he created the foundation with the assistance of J. Larry Wilkes, an Ardmore accountant, and Mary Strawn, the wife of his then foreman Howard Strawn. When the foundation first started, the work centered on supporting charitable organizations to benefit disadvantaged Oklahomans, and colleges and universities to provide scholarships for Carter County students. Murray State College Foundation received the first gift. The Tishomingo-based college designated the grant to award agriculture scholarships to Carter County students. 

In the foundation’s early years, Lyndall directed his attention towards humanitarian causes in Carter County through modest donations to local charities. Following his death in 1996,    Lyndall’s assets were transferred to the foundation, which was overseen by Wilkes and Strawn, who served as co-directors. In 2002, the foundation’s quarterly grants process began. The foundation’s giving was limited to the geographical concentration of Carter County, Oklahoma. By 2004, more than 30 organizations in Carter County had benefited from the foundation, including CASA of Southern Oklahoma, Sunshine Industries, Greater Ardmore Scholarship Foundation, Southern Oklahoma Ambulance Services, and Gloria Ainsworth Learning Center. 

On December 1, 2022, foundation leaders changed the organization’s name to The McCrory Foundation to match what the organization was called by its grant partners and the general public. 

In 2025, the foundation awarded grants to 53 agencies that received a combined total of $1.5 million to support their missions, programs, and their efforts to enhance Carter County communities in areas of human service, health, youth development, and education.

Today, Lyndall’s initial effort to benefit his community has resulted in the foundation’s ability to distribute more than $17.6 million in grant funding over a period of around 30 years. The private independent foundation is governed by a four-person board of directors and a president with an asset size of $42.1 million. 

Board of Directors
Mary Kate Wilson, Vice President and Secretary
Larry Pulliam, Treasurer
Leslie Larsen, Board Member
Dr. John Credle, Board Member

Staff
Laura Eastes Akers, President