Alma Wilson
Oklahoma attorney, district judge (1917–1999)
Alma Dorothy Bell Wilson (May 25, 1917 – July 27, 1999) was an Oklahoma attorney who was appointed as the second female district judge in the state of Oklahoma in 1975. In 1982, she was elevated as the first woman to serve on the Oklahoma Supreme Court and between 1995 and 1997 was the first woman chief justice. Wilson was honored by many awards in her lifetime including induction into the Oklahoma Women's Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and was named Appellate Judge of the Year in both 1986 and 1989.
Early life
Alma Bell and her twin sister Wilma were born on May 25, 1917, in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma to Anna and William R. Bell. From age eight, Bell had decided to become a lawyer and after graduating as valedictorian of the class of 1935 from Pauls Valley High School, she attended Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, completing her BA degree. Bell then attended Oklahoma City University where she obtained her Bachelor of Laws before enrolling at the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She was one of six women in a class of 100 students, who graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1941.
Career
After law school, Bell returned to Pauls Valley and began her practice as a tax attorney. After World War II ended, she met a veteran, who was also a practicing attorney in Pauls Valley. She and Bill Wilson married in 1948 and had their daughter Lee Ann in 1951.
The public source identifies “Alma Wilson” as oklahoma attorney, district judge (1917–1999). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Alma, Wilson and Oklahoma.
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Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q25907364. VIAF identifies the subject as 29239539. The Library of Congress control number is no2004034009. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1917, 1999, 1975 and 1982.
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This entry incorporates text from “Alma Wilson” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.