Betty Dean Jennings

Betty Dean Kelsay Jennings, age 92, passed away in Tulsa, OK on November 22, 2025. She was born in Hannibal, MO on June 14, 1933.

Betty met William H. “Bill” Jennings on approximately December 9, 1950 and they married two weeks later on December 23 in Koppel, PA.  Betty was 17 and Bill was 22.  Betty was a waitress in a diner and Bill was her customer.  She loved his southern accent and when he asked, “Do you have any jelly?” with a southern drawl she couldn’t resist forgetting the jelly the next morning he came in so he’d ask her for it again. 

Bill took her to Idabel to meet his family and discovered his draft notice.  He left her there a week later to begin his service. 

After his stint in the Army, Bill and Betty traveled around almost all of the central US in a trailer while Bill worked for a pipeline company.  Betty was a homemaker and insisted on keeping the family together and they moved together from town to town until 1964 when Bill moved back to Idabel to start a bulldozer business.   By then, their eldest, Kelly, started her 32nd school in 7th grade.  No telling how many towns they lived in total!

Betty and Bill were founding members of Trinity Baptist Church and Betty was involved in helping the church grow for many years.  Both of her daughters, Kelly and Shelly, were active in the Singing Sooners, a high school singing group, and Bill and Betty were very active supporters and chaperoned many Singing Sooner trips. 

Betty took Bookkeeping classes in order to help Bill with his land clearing business and helped him grow that business into a very successful business with Weyerhaeuser as his most significant customer.

Betty and Bill loved to travel in their motor home eventually traveling in every state except Hawaii as well through Canada and Mexico.  The also served as Co-International President of the Foretravel Motorhome Travel Club.

Betty is preceded in death by Bill who died in June 2023 after 72 1/2 years of marriage.  She is also preceded in death by three sisters, Doris Summers, Shirley Majors and Mabel Rickey and has a surviving brother, Charles Kelsay who lives in Groveland, FL

Betty has two daughters, Shannon Kelsay (Kelly) Jennings from Tulsa and Sheldona Lin (Shelly) Jennings Thomason, son-in law Daryl Thomason from Broken Bow, grandson Tanner Thomason from Atlanta, granddaughter Taryn Thomason Grippando and her husband Jordan from McAlester and their daughters Harper and Havyn, granddaughter Taylor Thomason Sharp and her husband Coleton from Goldsby and their daughter Jennings and sons Bowman and Walker.

Funeral services will be held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, November 26, 2025 at White Family Funeral Chapel.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at the funeral home.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Alzheimer's Association would be appreciated.

Services under the direction of White Family Funeral Home.

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