Elizabeth F. "Betty" Spaeth

Elizabeth “Betty” Florine Whinery was born on October 23, 1926 and was the third of five children of Dale and Constance Whinery. She was raised in El Reno, Oklahoma where her father worked as a prison guard at the Federal Penitentiary. She had many fond childhood memories of walking to school every day with her older brother, Frank. While her father enjoyed hunting and fishing whenever possible, her mother ran a tight and tidy household and these lessons would serve Betty well as she would manage her own family in the future years.

After graduation from high school in 1944, she was employed as a telephone operator in downtown Oklahoma City. She went on an arranged date to go dancing with a handsome young man recently returned from serving as a Marine in the South Pacific and instantly fell in love. She married the love of her life, Ervin Spaeth, on June 29, 1946. Over the next nine years their family grew to six which included Carol, Norma, Bill and Terry. Raising their children in a Catholic tradition became the focus of their time, energy, and money as they made the commitment that all of their children would attend Christ The King School even though Nichols Hill Elementary was one block away.

Our mom’s life was about structure, consistency, and doing the right thing. This began with making your bed (military style) and being ready for school when breakfast was served. The day ended with homework, supper and nightly prayers. Our friends were often surprised that even a weekend at the lake included attending mass in nearby Cookson, Oklahoma before thinking about water skiing.

Mom’s time was spent carpooling us and neighbor children to Christ The King, being a Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader, chauffeuring children to dance lessons, swimming lessons, and helping prepare us for First Communion and Confirmation. As we grew older, she finally had time to cultivate her own hobbies as sewing, china painting, reading, and of course gardening. Everyone would always brag about her beautiful Clematis covering the back fences. She loved spending time with her eight grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren and especially holding her great-great grandchild and her latest namesake, Little Lizzie. Many of her grandchildren have fond memories of playing Yahtzee for hours with both Grandma and Grandpa Spaeth.

Our mom faced every obstacle with a very pragmatic philosophy that you lived your life doing what was expected. She did this daily as she dealt with her Diabetes for close to sixty years. Over this past Christmas mom was forced to spend a week at Mercy Heart Hospital and then another week at a skilled nursing facility. She continued to teach us about tenacity as she stubbornly willed herself well enough to get back to her home. Her last wishes were to be reunited with Erivn and to pass away in her bed at home. As the nucleus of our family, she will be greatly missed. We love you mom.