Belva D. Neal

Belva D. Neal, 95, passed away on October 29, 2023. Born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on March 2, 1928, to LeRoy and Fern Dockum, Belva spent her early years in Guthrie and Oklahoma City as her father worked in many departments of car dealerships. As a child in Guthrie, Belva was an excellent student and was the only girl invited to play neighborhood baseball on the boys’ teams. The family moved to Fort Worth during her junior high years then back to Oklahoma City where she graduated from Central High School in 1946.

She attended Oklahoma A&M (OSU) where she was active in the Kappa Delta sorority and served as its president. Belva graduated in 1950 with a degree in Secretarial Business and was crowned Business Queen. Her first night at A&M, she met Barney K. Neal, Jr. at the Baptist Student Union. The two married August 27, 1949 and had two children, Suzie and Randy. A lieutenant colonel in the US Army, Barney’s service took the family to Ft. Benning, GA; Stillwater, OK; OKC, OK; and Berlin, Germany. Barney would later give his life to the war effort in Vietnam on September 11, 1970.

Belva was a member of First Baptist Church, OKC and then St. Luke’s Methodist Church, OKC, as well as many community groups. She was an active Kappa Delta alumna and OSU Lifetime Alumna and member of Integris Baptist Medical Center Volunteer Auxiliary, Lyric Theater, Gold Star Wives Club, and OSU Posse Club. She co-founded The Registry of Oklahoma City, a dinner dance and philanthropy for single professionals. Belva married Ron Yoxsimer on June 4, 1994. The couple spent nearly 30 years together and enjoyed traveling and attending sports events. Belva was preceded in death by her first husband, Barney; her parents; her brother, Wendell Dockum; and her granddaughter, Maya Neal. She is survived her husband Ron Yoxsimer, her daughter, Suzie Buxton (Jay), Edmond; son, Randy Neal, Seattle; and granddaughters, Jamie Buxton, Tennessee; Sally Hoch (George), Edmond; and two great grandchildren, George III and Kate.

A visitation is planned for Thursday, November 2, 2023 at Hahn-Cook Funeral Home from 4:30-6:00.

Memorial Service will be Friday, November 3, 2023 at 11:00 in the Chapel of St. Luke’s Methodist Church, 222 NW 15th, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Memorials are suggested to Kappa Delta Foundation, the OSU Foundation, or the charity of your choice.