Bettie Bishop

Bettie C. Kardos Bishop, RN, PhD, lived a remarkable life of accomplishment. She helped make the communities she lived in better places, she nursed the sick back to health, advocated for those who had no champion and she leaves behind countless friends. She died Tuesday, peacefully and in the loving embrace of her family following a brief illness. She was 78. Bettie moved to Grove in 1992, with her husband Ivan Frank Kardos, after she was recruited to be the Director of Nursing and Associate Administrator at Grove Hospital, which later became Integris Grove General Hospital. In addition to significant hands-on nursing duties, she raised the caliber of the nursing staff and was part of the leadership team to completely upgrade and expand that hospital's Intensive Care Unit. Born August 29, 1934, in Douglas, GA, to Wesley Charles Crumpler and Lillie McGee Crumpler, Bettie was determined to make the most of life. Her father was a construction superintendent, whose work took the family across America, building bases for the U.S. military, including Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. Her marriage to Frank Kardos resulted in a dynamic team that instilled in their four children a sense of purpose and desire to achieve. Bettie was a born leader and whatever room she entered, she was soon in a leadership role. For more than five decades she was an active member of the Order of Eastern Star, in Maryland, New Mexico and Tulsa, including several terms as Worthy Matron. She was an active member, including several terms as president, of Epsilon Sigma Alpha chapters, a national service organization dedicated to making a difference in the lives of others. While in nursing school at Eastern New Mexico University, she became president of the New Mexico State Student Nurses Association. During her nursing career, she served a term as president of the American Society of Post Anesthesiology Nurses. In the late 1990s, she was an active chairperson in the nascent effort to establish the Oklahoma Post Adjudication Review Board, ensuring that the rights and welfare of Delaware County foster children are protected. She was also a Red Cross disaster services volunteer. For more than 10 years, she served as the Chair of the Grove Planning and Zoning Commission, helping guide the City of Grove as it planned its growth and continue along the path as one of Oklahoma's best small towns. Following the death of her husband Frank, in 1996, Bettie received that rare gift, a second chance at love, when she reconnected with her high school sweetheart, Arthur Eugene "Rusty" Bishop, a successful businessman from Ohio. They married in September 1999 and enjoyed nearly a decade of loving and devoted marriage, going on cruises, travelling to favorite spots such as Destin, FL, spending time with their many friends in Grove and enjoying life together in a community they both loved. Bettie loved to entertain and her many friends in Grove recall the parties and happy times at her home, filled with laughter, sitting on her back deck of her home on Summit Drive that overlooked the golf course with a view beyond to Grand Lake. She is survived by her sister, Diann Burlile of Lewisberg, OH, and Bettie's children, Christopher Kardos, his wife Sherry and their son Jonathan, of Center Point, IA, daughter Pamela Kardos Gordon and her husband Wayne Gordon of Upper Marlboro, MD, Michael Kardos and his wife, Kay, of Los Angeles and Gregory Kardos and his wife, Brenda, of Fort Collins, CO, their children, daughter Amy Lewis and husband Scott Kreiter of Malaga, WA, daughter Kelly Kardos of Castle Rock, CO, and son Scott Kardos and his wife Emily of Wenatchee, WA, and four great grandchildren. The family suggests those wishing to make memorial donations consider St. Jude's Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN, a national service project of Epsilon Sigma Alpha. A memorial service will be held Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. at Worley Luginbuel Funeral Home Chapel in Grove, OK with the Rev. Carol Margaret Barger, presiding. Friends and family may leave notes of encouragement by viewing Bettie's book of memories at www.honoringmemories.com

Visitation Details

Thursday, March 21st, 2013 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Service Details

Friday, March 22nd, 2013 10:00am, Worley-Luginbuel Funeral Home - Grove