Betty Jane Bradford Bergmann -- Teacher

 

Betty Bergmann

Betty Jane Bradford Bergmann was born on April 6, 1929 at home, on the main street of the small town of Boatman, Oklahoma. She was the daughter of Samuel Nathanial and Monnie Lee McCasland Bradford.  Betty’s only sibling was her brother, Dale Bradford who was born on May 4, 1930. Betty had a great childhood with her brother, Dale, from swimming in Bryan Chapel Branch Creek, swinging from grape vines, roaming around in the woods, and having corn cob fights. Betty attended the Salina School and Bryan Chapel grade schools and graduated from Strang High School with the Class of 1946. 

She went on to attend Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College in Miami, Oklahoma.  At the end of her second year at the college, Betty’s father got her a job back at Strang High School where she started her teaching career at the age of 19.

While teaching at Strang, Betty met William Henry Bergmann. She wanted to get married, but also wanted a car. Henry had told her “I’ll buy you a car. Let’s get married.” And so they were married on October 5, 1951.  Henry was born on October 7, 1927 in Adair, Oklahoma. He was a veteran of World War II and had served in the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard.  He worked as a transportation manager. Betty and Henry were the parents of three children, Stanley Marcus Bergmann, born in 1952, Kent Alan Bergmann, born in 1956 and Lisa Anne Bergmann, born in 1959.

After Henry and Betty were married, they moved to Tulsa but later moved to Pryor, Oklahoma where they settled on a farm. Betty began teaching in the nearby Chouteau Public School System and taught at Jefferson Elementary School and Lincoln Elementary School. In 1978, she was diagnosed with breast cancer and continued to teach through numerous radiation treatments and a year of chemotherapy.  Betty spent 30 years teaching and retired in 1990.

After retirement, she became the treasurer of the Mayes County Retired Educators and belonged to two teacher conclaves, Delta Kappa Gamma and Kappa Kappa Iota. She also joined the Daughters of the American Revolution and became active in the Mayes County Historical Society and the Mayes County Genealogy Club.

An article written about Betty by a friend, Thelma Notley, described her: “Betty Bergmann can be described in one word: Reliable. No club assignment or task is ever deemed unworthy by her. From small jobs to those involving more time, Betty will get it done.” And always with the special Betty smile and quiet manner. She never seemed to look for the bad side of life, but always for the good. Betty had a great life. She would say that her happiness didn’t depend on great wealth, but for her many friends and great children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren

Betty died on January 13, 2020 in Pryor at the age of 90.  She was buried in the Bryan Chapel Cemetery in Boatman, Oklahoma, next to her husband, Henry, who had died on April 10, 2000.

Bergmann Tombstone

LINEAGE: (Betty Jane Bradford was the daughter of Samuel Nathaniel and Monnie Lee McCasland Bradford, the granddaughter of Thomas Jesse and Mary Stanley Thomas McCasland, and the great-granddaughter of James Clark “Muck” and Mary Elizabeth Lawrence Thomas.  James Clark was the fourth child of James Jr. and Margaret Ethridge Thomas.  James Jr. was the sixth child of James Thomas and Mary Standley Thomas.  Mary Lawrence was the daughter of Ezekiel and Polly Sholar Lawrence and the granddaughter of Allen and Jemima Bridges Sholar.  Jemima was the first child of Drury Bridges and Charity Cohoon Bridges.)