Janith ‘Howell’ Byers

Funeral services were held for Janith (Janie) Jean (Howell) Byers, 75, of Weatherford, on Monday at Fairlawn Cemetery in Stillwater.

Janie died Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015, in Weatherford.

She was born Sept. 6, 1940, to Ray and Bertha (Hughes) Howell in Stillwater. She attended high school in Hennessey and graduated in 1958. She then attended Enid Business College.

In 1959 she married LeRoy Byers, and they raised three children together. The couple lived in South Haven, Kan., until settling at Ponca City in 1969. While there, Mrs. Byers worked for Conoco Oil Company, Jack Rein Insurance, and OCAW.

She later went back to college, first to Northern Oklahoma College and then to Oklahoma State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She then moved to Del City and began a career at Tinker Air Force Base. After retiring, she moved to Clinton.

Her parents and one son, Edward Leroy Byers, preceded her in death.

She is survived by two children, Larry Byers of Ponca City and Jill Richards and husband Tom, of South Haven, Kan.; four granddaughters, CharLynn and her husband, Laurence, of Medford, Chandrea and her husband, Joey, of Cherokee, Shelby, of Fort Collins, Colo., and Kaylee, of Mio, Mich.; one grandson, Travis, of Fort Collins, Colo.; five great-grandchildren, Lillian, Kailyn, Alexa, Austin and Daila Jean; one sister, Vivian (Howell) Ritter, and family of Evergreen, Colo.; and one brother, Bob Howell, of Clinton.

Memorials may be made in Janie’s memory to the Friends for Life Animal Sanctuary, P.O. Box 1965, Weatherford, OK 73096.