Betty Jo Dinkins

Betty Jo Dinkins was born in Dale Oklahoma on October 17, 1928. The third of three children born to Roy Randolph Rooker and Cleda Jarboe Rooker. Her father, a Dale pioneer farmer, built the home in which she was born and raised. She will be laid to rest in the Dale Cemetery which was carved from the original Rooker family homesteads. Betty’s parents provided her a Christian upbringing. She and her youngest brother were baptized in a pond near the family homestead. Betty was courted by an OU football player working in Shawnee, Merle Leon Dinkins and they were married in 1949, a marriage that lasted the same length of her parents – 63 years. She was an active member of St. Paul’s Methodist Church for more than 60 years in which she participated in the choir and her beloved Sunday School group. A consummate homemaker and cook, she and Merle raised two children and found time to be involved in her community by becoming President of the Junior Service League. Her commitments included Camp Fire, St. Paul’s youth program and any need at Wilson grade school. With her pilot husband she loved traveling by land and air and vacationing with her family throughout the states and overseas. Many summers were spent in “Dink’s Cabin” in Lake City, Colorado with a host of wonderful friends. A claim to fame was her fluency in Pig-Latin, collection of unique colloquial quips and the possibly thousands of Santa Claus cookies that she produced each Christmas - a legacy which has been passed down generationally. A product of the Greatest Generation, Betty fulfilled her role as wife, mother and citizen of her community and country with devotion perseverance. Her generosity was shown especially to those who knew her well and to friends like Kyu-Ja Kim’s family who came from Korea. She leaves us a legacy of warmth, hospitality and deep commitment to family which will be sorely missed by all who knew her. She was proceeded in death by her infant son, Gary Merle Dinkins, her husband Merle and her parents – Roy and Cleda; and by her brothers Bill, Tim and sister Marcille. Betty is survived by her two children – Larry Merle Dinkins, daughter-in-law Paula Dinkins (deceased) and Marsha Jeanne Waldo and spouse – John Waldo; her six grandchildren, Andrew Dinkins (Catherine), Timothy Dinkins (Lydia), Amber Dinkins Argenal (Gabriel), Titus Dinkins (Michelle), Jack Waldo (Allison) and Emily Waldo Trigger (Chris); her 15 great grandchildren Charlotte, Elena , Andrew, John Reid, Benjamin, Sam, Charles, Amelia, Daniel, Melody, Emma, Sylas, Juda, Jesse and John. Her funeral will be on Saturday, March 19, 2:00 PM at the Walker Funeral Home, Shawnee, Oklahoma, followed by a graveside service at the Dale Cemetery. Memorials can be given to the Chiang Mai Theological Seminary by using this link - https://partnerhub.omf.org/CTSMultipurposeCenter