Hazel Fern (Beatty) Thurman

Funeral services for Hazel Fern (Beatty) Thurman, 85, of Owasso, OK, were held Saturday, April 27, 2024, at Eastern Hills Baptist Church in Claremore, OK. Reverend Ken Macken officiated, and burial was in Rest Haven Cemetery in Sperry, OK, next to her husband, Edward and will forever be missed on this earth. Honorary Casket bearers were Jared Butler, Aaron Thurman, Darren Butler, Nicholas Thurman, Benjamin Thurman and Taylor Thurman.

Hazel was born May 17, 1938, in Skiatook, OK, to Lawrence Dewey Beatty and Bertha Elizabeth (Matlock) Bence. She went to be with her Lord on April 16, 2024, in Owasso, OK surrounded by her family.

Her childhood was spent on the move in Oklahoma, Wyoming, Washington, and Idaho because according to her “ They were so poor that they moved every time the rent came due !” She along with her brothers and sisters relied on each other for entertainment, protection and survival as their mother was often away working. When she said she grew up sweeping dirt floors she wasn’t kidding. As she grew older, she was forced to quit school to help raise her younger siblings and only achieved a 6th grade education. Her perseverance and grit helped her to survive childhood and at the age of 17, she met and married her husband Edward, and they were together for 41 years. Even with a limited education, her love for life, strength of character, wisdom from the road less travelled, allowed her and her husband to run a successful business in Texas and raise two boys of their own. They became guardians to a third and adopted a fourth - all of which went on to marry and achieve their own successes. Famous for her Hamburger gravy, she was happiest watching everyone fight for the last spoonful and would always insist that anyone who happened to be there during mealtimes sit down and eat, as they were part of the family. She loved fishing, sewing, gardening and garage sales. As a grandmother and great-grandmother, her job was to “spoil’em and give’em back.” She touched many lives with her no filter advice and usually ordered you to “Come here and give me a hug!”

As for those of us who know and love her, she will forever watch over us and live in our hearts.

She is survived by her sons, Michael Butler and wife Sherri, Tony Thurman, David Thurman and wife, Tonia, and Steve Thurman and wife, Jamie; 10 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren; brothers, Clifford Beatty, Tom Beatty, and Jim Lord; and many other relatives and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Edward Thurman; mother, Bertha Bence; father, Lawrence Beatty; brothers, Lawrence Beatty Jr., Bob Beatty, and Donnie Lord; and sisters, Gladys Welch, Ruth Wallace, Margaret Hutchins, Louise Haas, Betty Ashford, Annie Rhodes and Maxine Walker. 

Arrangements and services were entrusted to Johnson Funeral Home, Sperry.

Online condolences to the family can be made at johnsonsperry.com.