Betty Lou Callaghan

Betty was born September 12, 1932 in Utica, Oklahoma to James Augustus and Nettie Cordelia (Cross) O’Donley. She attended school in Utica, Pirtle, Savanna, and attended high school in Durant. Betty met and fell in love with Francis J Callaghan, an Air Force pilot training at Perrin AFB in Denison, TX, and they married December 3, 1949. They had three daughters; Sandra Lee, Karen Ann, and Mary Colleen. An Air Force family, they moved from Texas and Oklahoma to England, New Hampshire, Delaware, and California before returning to Altus AFB. After retirement, the family moved to Norman, Oklahoma where they attended and graduated from the University of Oklahoma. Betty earned a Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education in 1985. A loving wife and mother, Betty devoted her life to raising her family. A lifelong volunteer, Betty worked for the American Red Cross, local schools, the Norman Regional Hospital Auxiliary, the Sam Noble Museum, and the Cleveland County Election Board. One of eight children, Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Lt. Col. Francis J. “Red” Callaghan; her parents, Jim and Nettie O’Donley; her brothers, James Augustus “Jim Bob” O’Donley Jr. and William Rann “Randy” O’Donley; sisters Lucretia (O’Donley) Sallee Clausen, Anna Mae (O’Donley) Renshaw, Willie Jane (O’Donley) Anderson, and Ora Sue (O’Donley) Ruhl. Her son-in-law, Robert A. “Bob” Bush, also preceded her.

She is survived by her sister Nettie Eyvonne (O’Donley) Hunnicutt of Durant. Loving mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she will be missed by her daughter Sandra Lee Bush of Seiling and granddaughters Jennifer Ann Buller of Enid and Nicole Lee Bush of Oklahoma City; daughter Karen Ann Callaghan of Norman, OK; and daughter Mary Colleen Garvin and husband, Jim, of Richmond, VA, grandsons Andrew Garvin of San Francisco, CA and Charles Garvin of Richmond, VA, and granddaughter Kathryn Garvin of San Jose, CA. Betty has one great-granddaughter, Annabella Nicole Lee Buller, of Enid, and two step-great-grandchildren, Jeremee and Kailee Buller of Mustang.

A Celebration of Life and Remembrance will be held at Calvary Baptist Church in Durant on Saturday, August 1, 2015, at 1:00 pm with Pastor Darel Bunch officiating. Interment will follow at Highland Cemetery. Family visitation will be held at Primrose Funeral Service in Norman, OK on Friday, July 31 from 5-7 pm.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to OMRF or Norman Regional Hospital.