Elizabeth Ann Tyrrell

2/3/24 - 2/11/15

Betty Tyrrell died February 11, 2015 after a brief illness. She was born to Henry Joseph and Elizabeth Catherine O’Neil Darcey on February 3, 1924, in Oklahoma City, the first of four children. Betty and her siblings, Jim, Pete, and Jeanne, were very close their entire lives.

As a child, Betty suffered from asthma and attended school in Albuquerque for the dry mountain air. She graduated from Saint Vincent Academy and attended Saint Mary College in Xavier, Kansas, where she studied dietary science. She enjoyed spending summers with family in their cabin in Colorado, fishing, canoeing and riding horses.

In 1945, at the tender age of 21, she became the head of the dietary department at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Oklahoma City. She was quick to credit her early success, at least in part, to her formidable height, but in reality, Betty’s formidable talents enabled her success. Betty remained at the VA Hospital until her early retirement in 1985, when she left to marry the love of her life, Robert (Bob) Leavitt Tyrrell, Jr.

When she married Bob, Betty became the stepmother to his son Robert (Rob) Phillip Tyrrell III. Although she never had children of her own, Betty became a surrogate mother for Rob, a cherished mother-in-law to his wife Elizabeth, and an adored grandmother to her three precious grandchildren, Blair, Corrigan, and Robert. Betty also loved her many nieces and nephews as if they were her own children: Jim’s children Catherine, Jim, Susan, and Elizabeth; Pete’s children Deanne, Hank, Dan, Mallory, Carrie, Mike, Maggie, and Chris; and Jeanne’s children Craig, Darcey, Susan, Liz, and Amy.

Betty’s faith was central to her life, and she was a devoted member of Christ the King Church. She volunteered countless hours to a myriad of causes, including Helpers Club, Altar Guild, the Oklahoma County Post-Adjudication Review Board, the OU Medical Center Volunteer Program, and the OU Health Sciences Center Senior Mentor Program. She was proud of her induction as a Lady into the Equestrian Order of The Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Jim and wife Ann, her brother Pete, and her sister Jeanne and husband Jim Osgood, and her beloved husband. She is survived by her sister-in-law Pat Darcey, her nieces and nephews and their families, and her stepson Rob and his family.

Betty will be long remembered for her quick wit, her easy laugh, her loving manner, and her generous spirit. Visitation will be held Friday, February 13, from noon until 8:00 P.M. at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper. Services will be held at Christ the King Church on Saturday, February 14, at 10:00 A.M. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Christ the King Church.