Betty Jo Johnson

Betty Jo Smith Johnson passed away peacefully on December 12, 2020 with her daughter holding her hand and caressing her face. Betty Jo was born on February 15. 1928 at home in the small community of Foss, Oklahoma. She was the second child of four children, born to Maude and Oscar Smith. She was raised with her older brother, Ernest Lee and her two younger sisters, June and Melba. Betty Jo attended school at Liberty Center in Leedy, Oklahoma. In 1943, at the age of 15, she married her childhood sweetheart, Merlin Johnson, before he left for service in the Navy. She and Merlin had their only child, Judy, in 1946. Betty Jo worked as a bank teller in Elk City and later when she moved to Okla. City, she worked as an administrative assistant, a loan officer, and ended her career as a Bank Examiner. She was the first woman to be employed as a State Bank Examiner of Okla. Betty Jo’s favorite thing was to entertain company. She always greeted everyone with a hug when they came and gave them a hug as they left her home. She also insisted on feeding everyone when they came. She was an excellent cook and was expected to have coconut pies at every family gathering. She also enjoyed flying her plane, having earned her pilot’s license while living in Elk City. She enjoyed baking, playing cards and dog training. She won several trophies for Obedience training and Protective training with her German Shepherds. Betty Jo’s love for her dogs was so immense that she was rarely seen without her sweet poodles, Princess and Daisy, and later her Yorkie, Loki, in her arms. In 1981 Betty Jo married Lee Johnson and lived in Oklahoma City until Lee’s death in 2015. They had a wonderful marriage and enjoyed training their dogs, traveling, attending church activities, and visiting and loving their families. Betty Jo was the nieces and nephews favorite Aunt Betty and her grandchildren were a special joy to her. In 2015, Betty Jo moved to Sand Springs to live with her daughter and son-in-law, after the passing of her husband Lee. The move was necessary because of the residual nerve pain and terrible headaches that she suffered from having had shingles. She was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Betty Jo suffered every day but she never lost her love of life. She enjoyed her time in Sand Springs as she and Judy would sit on the patio and watch the horses and other animals in the pasture. She also enjoyed swimming in the pool, planting flowers, and playing with her dogs. Betty Jo was a beautiful lady inside and out. She was generous, kind, and loving. Our precious mother, wife, sister, Aunt Betty, and grandmother will be missed and remembered every day. Her beautiful face, smiles, her loving ways, and the joyful memories we shared will be with us for a lifetime. Betty Jo was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Lee Johnson, and sister June Ford. Services will be held at 1pm Friday, December 18, 2020 at Putnam City United Methodist Church, 5819 NW 41st St. Warr Acres, OK, with Pastor Carlos Ramirez officiating. Entombment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens Mausoleum, 8701 NW Expressway, Okla. City.