Born on June 29, 1928, Liz was the second child of Dr. John W. Orman, D.O. and Irma Mae Travis Orman; growing up in Tulsa, she graduated from Central High School in 1946, and the enrolled in the University of Tulsa where she elected to receive her B.A. and M.A. in history through the benefit of a full scholarship for her performance skill with the violin; Liz was fond of saying that because of this she was able to, "fiddle my way through college without having to spend a dime." She then moved on to the University of Texas in Austin to complete her Ph.D. which is where she met and fell in love with Carlos Bryan Tuttle whom she wed in 1956. Having completed her Doctorate in 1959 they moved back to Tulsa where she returned to TU, this time on the other side of the lectern as a professor. In the '70s she chose to be a full-time mother to her children Lucinda Anne and John Carlos, and to indulge her passion in raising and showing purebred Dachshunds in both the confirmation and obedience rings, an avocation she enjoyed until only recently. She is survived by her husband of 63 years, Carlos, and son John, Paramedic, of Austin Texas.

In lieu of flowers the family would ask that donations be made in her name to the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine.