On July 4, 2024, as most had their eyes fixed on the heavens to witness the spectacular display of lights, Betty Lou Colclazier, one of Bryan County’s brightest beacons of light, ascended from this earth with her eyes fixed on Heaven and crossed the threshold of her new home into the arms of her Savior, while surrounded by family and loved ones at the age of 91.
Betty was born on March 11, 1933, to P.O. “Buck” and Bessie Moore in Utica, Okla. A lifelong resident of Bryan County, Betty spent the whole of her adult life serving and fighting for the community she loved so dearly. Her service to this community began when she and her husband Joe purchased the family business, Farmer’s Union Insurance, in 1972. Betty spent the next 46 years, together with her husband, serving and assisting the farmers and landowners of Southern Oklahoma until their retirement from the insurance industry in 2018.
In 1985, Betty fully realized her passion for helping others when she graduated from Southeastern Oklahoma State University, at the age of 52, and began a second career as a licensed professional counselor, founding the Bryan County Counseling Center in Durant. Not long into her practice she recognized an epidemic of child abuse and misplaced foster children in Southeastern Oklahoma and alongside District Judge Joe Taylor founded Bryan County CASA in 1986, one of the first child advocacy programs in the state. Betty spent the next 28 years building and fostering a network of relationships with judges, attorneys, community leaders, senators, congressmen and even governors to unapologetically fight, alongside her numerous volunteer case workers, in giving a voice to hundreds of abused and neglected children in the region until her retirement from CASA in 2014.
Betty’s passions were always geared around helping the helpless in her community. There was not a battlefield she was unwilling to step into or a foe she was unwilling to face, if she felt that a person or group of people were being forgotten or overlooked. Betty’s special commitment to abused, neglected, and deprived children, led her to become certified in Oklahoma to do adoption home studies and together with State Representative Guy Davis, Betty was responsible for obtaining legislative funding to establish the local woman’s crisis center. She was contracted with Bryan County’s Community Sentencing and Drug Court programs to provide counseling to those in the community who were trying to get their lives back on track. Betty was certified as a forensic expert witness in her field of expertise. She volunteered for, sponsored, worked alongside and/or served on the boards of countless community organizations over the years including RSVP, United Way, Democratic Women’s Association, Eastern Star, Lions Club, Kiwanis, 4H, Bryan County Business and Professional Women’s Association and the list goes on and on. There simply are not many families in Durant and surrounding areas who have not had their lives touched or impacted in some small way by the tireless work and dedication of Betty’s efforts in this community.
It was often said by those who knew or encountered “Miss Betty” that you loved her if she was on your side, and you didn’t if she was not, but you always respected her. Betty was always a straight shooter. She did not ever sugar coat her position and she was not afraid to call you out if she felt you were wrong but she was also a voice for the voiceless, a committed advocate for her community and was unwavering in her loyalty to her friends and most of all the family she loved so dearly.
Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Joe Colclazier; parents, Buck and Bessie Moore; brothers, BJ Moore and Ray Carr; sons, Roger Burns and Ronnie Michael; son-in-law, Mike Thompson; and grandsons, Stacy Burns and Matthew Koons.
She is survived by her daughter, Carolyn Thompson of Durant, Okla.; son, Robert Burns and wife Sherry of Sherman, Texas; daughter-in-law, Debbe Koons of Durant, Okla.; grandchildren, David Drake and wife Tara of Lubbock, Texas; Holly Burkhalter and husband Greg of Calera, Okla.; Crystal Mackey of Durant, Okla.; Amy Wiskus and husband James of Durant, Okla.; Leah Burns of Durant, Okla.; Robby Thompson and wife Tammie of Pottsboro, Texas; and Jeff Burns of McKinney, Texas. Betty was also blessed to be surrounded with and will be missed by 19 great grandchildren, 6 great-great grandchildren and many nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.
A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, at Armstrong Baptist Church in Armstrong, Okla. Bro. Monty Wood will be officiating.
Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Gordon Funeral Home, 221 N. Third Ave. in Durant.
Phone: (580) 916-9090
