Betty L. Wolaver

Born Jan. 7, 1943 in Enid, Okla., the eldest child of Louis and Doris McClellan (née Britton), Betty graduated from Enid High School in 1961. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Phillips University in 1966 before moving to Oklahoma City to work with Medical Arts Lab.

In 1969, mutual friends introduced her to Harold N. Wolaver, whom she married in San Francisco in 1970. Together they raised two children, Nicholas (b. 1973) and Lorrie (b. 1974) in their home in Edmond, Okla.

Betty established her own home-based business as a seamstress, creating hundreds of costumes, wedding dresses, cheerleading and vocal music uniforms and other specialty items for customers, friends and family during nearly 30 years of dedicated work.

Betty also enjoyed volunteer work, contributing many years of service to Will Rogers Elementary School P.T.O., for which she led publication of the “Will Rogers Schoolhouse Sampler” cookbook in 1983. She also led her daughter’s Blue Bird and Camp Fire groups, and supported her son’s Odyssey of the Mind competitions. She was also very involved in planning reunions for her Enid High School class. Her volunteer and community spirit led her to donate time to other causes including First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, U.S. Olympic Festival ’89, Bryant Accord, Cedar Ridge Neighborhood Association, March of Dimes and other community awareness programs.

Wolaver was an avid reader, crossword puzzle solver, master of Trivial Pursuit, and well-known for her clever sense of humor. She loved neighborhood walks, and for many years remained a recognized neighbor on the move in Cedar Ridge. When faced with her diagnosis she fought to slow its progression with increased neighborhood strolls. She shared her love of music through playing piano and enthusiasm for recordings by her favorite musicians and classical composers.

Betty will be fondly remembered as a kind, loving and compassionate wife, mother, sibling and friend. She possessed a generous spirit and sweet disposition, always lending a considerate ear and offering a kind word and cheerful smile to brighten others’ day.

Preceded in death by her parents, Wolaver is survived by her husband Harold of Edmond, daughter Lorrie of Oklahoma City and son Nicholas of Atlanta, as well as her brother, Scott McClellan of Dallas, cousins Lee Ann Teasley and Kris Ladusau of Oklahoma City, Ann Campbell Newman of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and other family members and friends as well as many generous caregivers at Grace Living Center and Daily Living Center of Edmond.