Bethine Wiederholt

We lost Bethine Wiederholt, aka Bean, 89, on August 25 th , 2025 in Rio Rancho, NM. She is

survived by her younger sisters Gloria Jean Ray; and Shirley and husband Darrel Whiteside; her

son Jim Wiederholt, and his children Branton and Nicole; her daughter Diane and son-in-law

Matt Evanko, and their children Taylor and Sean and fiancé Corey; and her youngest daughter

Mary Wiederholt.

Born in Missouri on February 1 st , 1936 to Edgar and Ava Branton, Bethine was raised on a

beautiful farm in Garnett, KS. She was so proud of growing up on a farm and would always say

“once a farm girl, always a farm girl”! She graduated from Garnett High School in 1954. Often

the prettiest girl in the crowd, Bethine met the love of her life, Jim Wiederholt, after he moved

to the area from Kansas City.

Many obstacles got in the way of their relationship. He was raised Catholic, she was raised

Protestant, and Jim spent two years away in the Army, stationed in Alaska. After graduating

from high school, Bethine’s independent streak took her to Kansas City, where she started a

career in banking, then eventually to Houston, TX, where she continued her banking career.

Although she valued her independence, her heart was broken without Jim and his without her.

As fate would have it, Jim followed her to Texas, where they were married on April 12 th , 1958.

Jim, always the fix-it man, mended both of their broken hearts. It was the first of many repairs

he would make in their life.

All three of Jim and Bethine’s children were born in Texas, but in 1963, Jim, an air traffic

controller with the FAA, got transferred to Tulsa, OK, where the family was raised and they lived

for nearly 60 years. Bethine was an awesome mother and wife, and always took care of

everyone - their house was often like grand central station! Neighborhood kids gathered to

play kick the can until the streetlights came on. Fried chicken and homemade ice cream (yes,

the old-fashioned crank kind, pineapple being Bethine’s favorite) kept everyone happy. With all

the chaos that comes from life with kids, things were always getting broken, and Jim was

always there to patch things up. The Wiederholt household was just the right mix of chaos,

love, laughter, and memories!

After the kids were raised, Bethine went back into the workforce, this time at a large realtor

office in Tulsa. She worked there for over 20 years, all the while taking care of Jim, and

spending as much time as possible with her kids and four grandkids. Family meant everything

to Jim and Bethine!

Bethine loved watching old westerns – movies and shows, and her favorite music to listen to

was Willie’s Roadhouse on Sirius XM radio. (Once a farm girl, always a farm girl!) She thought

penguins were so cute, and she collected many penguin keepsakes through the years! Bethine

enjoyed doing word search puzzles, crossword puzzles, and playing bingo. She (and Jim) loved

all things sweet, but her favorites were bread pudding, black walnut ice cream from Braum’s,

and Costco’s gourmet chocolate chunk cookies. She often enjoyed a fine scotch, a flute of

bubbly, or a nice fruity margarita! Bethine was definitely a pet person too, always with a cat or

a dog running around the house.

They moved to New Mexico in December of 2020, and in May of 2021, moved into Fairwinds

Assisted Living Facility. Jim and Bethine enjoyed their time there and got the extra help they

needed. Mutual appreciation to and from the staff, and spending a lot of time with daughters

and family in NM, made it all worthwhile, even as their daily needs increased. For the past

seven months, Bethine was also being cared for by Nevaeh Hospice Care.

Bethine never stopped taking care of Jim, a job she treasured. We lost Jim in March of this year

and Bethine took the loss very hard. She truly missed caring for her soulmate.

Jim and Bethine are reunited once again - her taking care of him, and him mending her heart

for good.

The family wishes to have a private celebration at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please give a

hug to someone you love, maybe give them a chocolate chip cookie, and always remember the

love that Jim and Bethine shared.