Betty Robinson Dicus

On a quiet Christmas Eve in 1925 at the Breco Hospital in Ada, Oklahoma, Betty Lou Robinson was introduced to the world.  The only child of Sam and Stella Robinson, Betty grew up in Lawrence, Oklahoma located approximately 7 miles south of Ada in a community of quarry workers for the Portland Cement Company.  Stella was a school teacher and taught in communities in the area including Lawrence, Fitzhugh, Seminole, and others.  Sam was a quarry worker for the Portland Cement Company who eventually became Chief Electrician.  Summers were spent in Fitzhugh, Lawrence or in Tulsa with family.  A first cousin, Helen Laird (Meadows), was a frequent visitor and Betty's best friend and they grew up together as though they were sisters.  Sam and Stella both worked during the depression years, and Betty often traveled with her mother on teaching assignments and attended school where her mother taught, but primarily attended school in both Lawrence and Fitzhugh and later graduated from Ada High School in 1943.  She attended the East Central State College during the War years and again in the 1960s eventually earning a B.A. in Education.

In 1947, she married E.T. Cason, the son of Bob and Lula Cason of Ada, and together Betty and E.T. also made their home in Ada.  Four children soon followed: two daughters, Karen and Robin, and two sons, Tom and Bill.  Through the 1950s and 1960s Betty focused on raising her children and being the best mother that she could be often under conditions of adversity, always instilling Christian principles, and the highest ideals upon her children.  She pushed them to succeed, and to pursue education.  She did well.

In 1967 she and E.T. separated their marriage.  In that same year, she lost her second son, Bill in a farming accident.  By all measures, it was a time that would try the strength of even the strongest woman.  But for Betty a period of self-determination and fulfillment followed.  Finding herself alone with teenage children and with few resources, she was determined to create a new path and a new future for herself and her children.  She began by completing her college degree at the East Central State College and then taught school for a short time.  This was followed by a career with the Oklahoma Department of Social Services where she worked until 1981 when she married Frank Dicus, and established Ada retail grocery man.  They made their home in Ada at the Dicus residence on Kerr Lab Road.  Together they traveled, entertained friends and enjoyed life well into their senior years.  Frank passed away August 20, 2010 leaving Betty alone once more, but the years that followed were filled with visits by family and friends, and the births of great grand-children.  She shared her love of animals that included her pets as well as a heard of goats and protective donkeys.  Her Christian faith sustained her through the years and gave her strength.  Betty loved her later years in her home with care givers until May 25, 2023 when she quietly left us in the loving company of her family at the age of 97.

Betty survived her parents, both husbands and her son Bill.  She is survived by daughters, Karen Smith of Ada, and Robin Barry of Bartlesville and her son, Tom Cason of Stilwell, Kansas.  Betty had nine grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren.  She is also survived by step children and many step grandchildren.  She was loved by all and will be missed by many.  Betty will be interned at a private family service at Memorial Park Cemetery where she will rest next to her husband Frank Dicus and near both of her parents.

The family requests memorials be made to East Central University Foundation for education scholarships.