Betty Stevens

Betty Lou Seward Stevens was born November 21, 1924 in a half-dugout on the Kansas side of the Oklahoma-Kansas state line to Archie Hass and Eula Hinshaw Seward. Her siblings were Kenneth, Anna Mary Brice-Nash, and Pat Hibler. Her parents and siblings preceded her, as well as her husband Robert Bruce Stevens, and granddaughter, Robbie Gayle Stevens. Betty lived the life of a farm girl who had her beloved Seward grandparents Charles and Mary Seward a mile away on their farm.

When Betty was five, her mother died of cancer. To pay for her funeral, her father had to sell the farm. She and her dad moved with her Seward grandparents into a home in Tyrone, Oklahoma, a block south of the high school. Betty attended high school through her Sophomore year. In her middle years, she earned her GED and was so proud to have finally graduated high school.

On July 4, 1942 Betty married Robert Bruce Stevens in Liberal, Kansas. After their first child Darrel was born, they rented a farm three miles west of Tyrone. They lived a couple of miles from Bruce's parents, grandparents, and aunt Elane Stevens Albright. After they moved to the farm, they had four more children: Mike, Gayle, Penny, and Debra. She is survived by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and sister-in-law, Eldena Stevens.

Farming in the Panhandle sandhills was not a profitable enterprise, especially for a family of seven, and after about fifteen years, Betty and Bruce moved with their children to the old Sapp house in Tyrone, Oklahoma. They all were so excited to have modern conveniences and our own bedrooms, as well as being close to school, church and friends. Bruce went to work at National Helium plant east of Liberal, Kansas, and Betty worked a few years as a cook at the school.

Betty was active in the Rebekah Lodge in Tyrone. She was the lodge pianist as well as working her way up the various offices in the lodge, eventually being elected State District Deputy of the Oklahoma Rebekah Lodges. She was also pianist/organist at her church, the Tyrone Methodist Church.

Betty was raised with a love of music: her grandfather, Charles, played the fiddle and had an old pump organ which she learned to play by ear. She liked the 30's and 40's "bouncy" music that the Lodge members would march to as they performed their rites.

One of the kids' and grandkids' fondest memories is of their dad playing the guitar as their mother played the piano. They played hymns, such as "He Touched Me," "Just a Little Talk With Jesus," "On the Jericho Road," and others. When Bill Gaither came onto the music scene, Betty loved his music. They also played the popular songs such as "Five Foot Two," "Chattanooga Shoeshine Boy," "Under the Double Eagle, and others. Often they'd play after the kids had gone to bed, and they'd go to sleep listening to the happy sounds of their music.

When Penny was around twelve, she'd play the piano and Betty, Bruce (with his guitar) and the kids would gather around and sing all their favorite hymns. There were three basses, Deb and Gayle alternated tenor and alto, and Penny and Betty sang soprano. If a family is going to live in harmony, that's how to do it. Eventually, Darrel joined with his guitar, and five of the grandchildren also learned to play guitar. Therefore, music was a huge part of the family's lives. We all excelled in music at the school and at church. Penny and Gayle played the piano at church, all of the kids are in choir, and Darrel, Mike, and Penny all play handbells at church. Darrel sings and plays his guitar at church.

A few years ago, Betty wrote a note amending her will. Among other topics, she said she was so proud of her family. She said she had a loving and caring Christian family, and she thanked the Lord for looking out for her all her life. Betty always said she wanted us kids to be liked, to be busy, to have some skills, and to be responsible, Christian people. She and Bruce set the example by being active in their schooling and in their church. They loved having family over to visit. Bruce was one of ten children, who all lived in the area, and along with her own family, Betty found many of her ancestors in her extensive geneology research of both the Seward and Stevens families. Betty was an accomplished seamstress: she loved to crochet; and she was a wonderful cook. She taught herself much of what she did. Bruce worked several jobs, so Betty had to be determined and resourceful as things needed to be done. She and Darrel put a dresser together on the farm; she invented a water cooler to put in the dining room; she stacked wheat stalks; encouraged Darrel to plow (when he was twelve); and kept her cool through all the family crises.

Betty ended her note saying: my last wish is for all my grandchildren to come to know the Lord and depend on him in the good times and bad times of their lives. She concludes with, "I guess I have said it all."