Betty Marie Brookshier

Funeral service for Betty Brookshier will be held 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, June 25, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Chelsea. Burial will follow at Dawes Cemetery. Visitation will be held on Monday June 24, 2024 at the Chelsea Funeral Home with family greeting friends from 6-8 p.m.

Betty Marie Brookshier, age 83, passed away on June 19, 2024, surrounded by her loved ones. She was born on February 8, 1941, in Chelsea, Oklahoma, the daughter of Floyd and Edith (Jenkins) Dawes. Betty spent her early years on a farm and attended Riggs Chapel rural country school. She later graduated from Chelsea High School with the Class of 1958.

After graduation, Betty embarked on a career as a beautician at a local salon before transitioning to work as an aide at Eastern State Hospital in Vinita. It was during this period that she met Larry Brookshier, a young serviceman, whom she married on August 22, 1960, in Miami, Oklahoma. Their life together took them to many places. They lived mostly in Kansas and Georgia due to Larry's military service, before they returned home to Chelsea in June 1980.

In Oklahoma, Betty resumed her career, this time as a security guard at the Port of Catoosa, where she worked until her retirement. Following the passing of Larry, Betty found love again and married Charles D. Bowling on February 8, 2008.

Betty enjoyed traveling throughout her life, with Branson being a favorite destination, especially for craft shows. She was known for her vibrant personality, love of laughter, and her passion for helping others. Above all, Betty cherished her family. Holidays were a special time for her, and baking Christmas cookies was a tradition she adored.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Floyd and Edith Dawes; her husbands, Larry Brookshier and Charles Bowling; her son-in-laws, Lynn Sowards and Don Martin; and her brother, Richard Dawes.

She is survived by her daughters, Debbie Sowards and Vickie Martin; grandchildren, Jayme Proctor (Jesiah) and Chris Meyer (Jacqui), Michael Don Martin, Katie Maxwell (Colby), and Beth, Chris, and Bella Sullivan; great-grandchildren, Hayden and Olivia Proctor, and Keely and Aiden Meyer, Terry James, Carter, and Mystique Maxwell, brothers, Jim Dawes (Audrey) and Bobby Dawes (Beverly); sister-in-law, Bert Dawes, bonus daughter, Penny and husband Abdi Mirsepassi, and bonus son, Mike and wife Rachel Bowling, and family.