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1931 Bethel 2025

Bethel Fay Woods

September 27, 1931 — August 6, 2025

Westville

Bethel Fay (Means) Woods, daughter of Thomas and Cora Tennessee (Deason) Means, was born on September 27, 1931, in a log cabin where Rabbit Trap School stands in the Spade Mountain area of Stilwell, Oklahoma. She passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 6, 2025, on her farm south of Westville, Oklahoma, at the age of 93.

She is survived by one son, Blake Woods, and wife Donna of Westville; daughter Beth Woods of Westville; daughter-in-law Gayla Woods; brothers Jerry Means and wife Debra of Stilwell and Willie Means and wife Audrey of Stilwell; and sisters-in-law Wilma Means of Stilwell and Wilma Arnold of Springfield, Missouri. She is also survived by grandchildren: Kyle Woods and wife Julie, Clint Woods, Keith Woods, Kevin Woods and wife Ashley, Kelsey Lohman and husband Wyatt, Katlin Sossamon and husband Chris, Tiffany Thomsen and husband Oran, Tyler Woods, Tom Woods, Tandy Pharr and husband Weston, and Tosha Woods. Her legacy also includes five great-grandchildren: Kwynncie Lohman, Waylon Pharr, Baylor Woods, Landen Carte, and Lynlie Webb.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Burlan Woods; her parents, Thomas and Cora Means; her son, Breck Woods; her grandson, Trace Woods; her brother, Carthel Means; and her sister, Allene Watkins.

Bethel was blessed to grow up in a very loving, hardworking family. She attended grade school at Rabbit Trap and graduated from Stilwell High School. At sixteen, she enrolled at Northeastern State College. After two years of study, she took a break to work at the telephone office in Tulsa to pay for the remainder of her education. She not only earned enough to finish her degree but also repaid her sister Allene for the loan that covered her first two years. Bethel graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education.

Her first teaching job was in western Kansas in a one-room rural school. During summers, she continued her education and eventually completed her master’s degree at NSU. It was during this time she met Burlan Woods. They married in 1957 and lived in Colorado Springs until his discharge from the Air Force. Afterward, they returned to Westville, bought a small farm, and began building their life together.

Bethel taught at Watts School for five years, handling elementary grades in the morning and home economics in the afternoon. Many of her students remained lifelong friends. She later taught first grade in Westville for the final 20 years of her career. She loved teaching and cared deeply for her first-grade students. Together with Burlan, she also helped manage their farm and later built and operated a meat processing plant.

Bethel was a lifelong seamstress, sewing many of her and her children’s clothes. In retirement, she and Burlan spent time traveling, gardening, enjoying their grandchildren, and volunteering. She was a long-time member of the home extension club, now called OHCE, where she formed many cherished friendships. She also had a passion for genealogy, quilting, canning, and cooking. Anyone who worked on the farm could expect a home-cooked meal, and her family and friends enjoyed many gatherings around her table.

She felt truly blessed by her long life, her 66-year marriage to Burlan, the joy of watching her grandchildren grow, and the special gift of knowing her great-grandchildren. Bethel made the most of each day and was forever thankful for her family and her faith in God.

To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Bethel Fay Woods, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Funeral Service

Friday, August 8, 2025

Starts at 10:00 am (Central time)

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Roberts & Hart Funeral Home

1428 Williams Ave, Westville, OK 74965

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Interment

Friday, August 8, 2025

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Westville City Cemetery, Westville

OK

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