Viewing will be 4-8 PM, Tuesday with family greeting friends from 6-8 PM at Vondel L. Smith & Son Mortuary, 6934 S. Western Ave. A funeral service to celebrate Betty Jo's life will be held at 2:00 PM, Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at SouthPointe Church of the Nazarene, 400 SW 104th Street with burial to follow at Resthaven Memory Gardens.

Betty Jo Hopkins-Phares, 97, went to be with her Heavenly father on Saturday, May 22, 2021. She was one of 4 daughters of Robert and Ida Carter. She was born on May 17, 1924 in Alesworth, Oklahoma. She grew up attending schools in the Kingston area at age four and graduated from Kingston High School in 1940. Betty Jo was Salutatorian and drum majorette of her high school. She also played piano during her younger years and continued to play "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" for her grandkids on their visits to her house. Betty Jo always drove her car too fast and that began with her first car in 1944. She was a homemaker and a phenomenal seamstress. She sewed intricate draperies, making drapes for the Baptistery for her church, Shields Church of the Nazarene, where she was a lifetime member, until it dissolved and for her home, as well as other family's homes. On February 1, 1942 she married her sweetheart, Johnnie Nelson Hopkins and together shared more than 50 years of marriage until his passing in 1994. This union of marriage was blessed with 2 sons. In addition to being a loving wife, devoted mother and dedicated homemaker, Betty Jo enjoyed traveling with her husband, Johnnie and attending church. They were lifelong members of Church of the Nazarene on Shields and relocated to SouthPointe in Oklahoma City. After the passing of Johnnie, Betty Jo remarried. Shemarried George Emery Phares and they were married for 10 years, until his passing, in 2006.

Betty Jo was very passionate about sports when it came to her sons and grandchildren. She was a sports fan for them through and through. She loved traveling by car with her husband Johnnie to watch her sons play. In fact, traveling to Kansas with Johnnie was better than flying to Paris. She also loved staying in hotels, malls and going out to dinner. Betty Jo also loved drinking her, must have, Folgers coffee, 2 sugars with plenty of cream and visiting the beauty shop at least once a week. In her last years she lived in Tulsa but always held a special place in her heart for Oklahoma City, her home, which she dearly missed. However, nothing was as important as being with her family whom she loved with all of her heart. She was a loving grandmother who loved to amaze her grand kids with reciting the alphabet backwards. Betty Jo was known for her cleanliness and neatness, especially in her home, it had to be perfect. She will be fondly remembered as being overly protective of her husband and 2 sons as well as being strong willed. Most would say while she was not enamored with gifts or material things, her greatest gifts were her grandchildren. She loved and cared deeply for her family and she will be held close to our hearts each day.

She was preceded in death by her:
Parents, Robert & Ida Carter;
Husband of over 50 years, Johnnie Nelson Hopkins;
Husband of 10 years, George Emery Phares;
3 Sisters, Lucille, Jennie and Jerry;
Daughter-in-law, Cecilia Hopkins.

She leaves behind her loving family:
Son, Johnnie Mac Hopkins and wife, Laura Linda;
Son, Jerry Joe Hopkins;
5 Grandchildren, Jennifer, Brent, Angie, Cody and Hayley;
4 Great Grandchildren, Cameron, Chelsea, Lucy and Sam;
And many nieces and nephews.