Birt Austin Batson, age 95, a native of Oilton, OK, and a resident of Tulsa, passed away late in the evening on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at home.
Birt is survived by his wife, Aileen of Tulsa, their five children Mary Brueggen (husband Jim), Rick Batson (wife Linda), Ruth Ann Carpenter, Tim Batson (wife Marla), and Debbie Copeland (husband Burt) and Rick’s first wife Janet Jindra, and by Ruth Ann’s previous husband Marty Carpenter. Other survivors include his brother, Don Batson and wife Mary; his sister, Linda Wolfe; his brother Eldon Batson’s wife Frances; his sister Dixie Abel’s husband Jerry.
Birt is survived also by many grandchildren including Tracy Keeter & husband Thomas, Amy Ford’s husband Steve Ford, Stephanie Diaz & husband Tommy, Aaron Batson & wife Lisa, Jason Batson & wife Traci, Courtney (Batson) Piotrowski, Jourdan Batson, Burton Copeland, and McKaylee Carpenter. He also leaves several great grandchildren including Malachi Keeter, Vincent Keeter, Ian Ford, Samantha (Sammi) Ford, Brittany, Anthony, and Isabel (Izzie) Diaz, Jaxon, Sydney, Scott, and Samuel Batson, and Reid and Logan Batson along with many nieces and nephews.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Harry Harvey Batson & Esther Ann (Casto) Batson; brothers, Harry Lester Batson, Eldon Ray Batson; sisters, Dixie Abel, and Laquita Althea Batson Lomenick and husband Carl and granddaughter, Amy Ford.
Birt began work at the RC bottling in Drumwright at the age of 15. At age 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served proudly in the Pacific Theater/Philippines during World War II aboard the USS LCS(L)(3) #9, a landing craft support ship. Once he was stateside, his fiancé, Aileen Whitehead, then from Olive, took the train to Portland, OR where they were married by the Justice of the Peace on April 19, 1946. After returning to OK, they attended Central State College until Birt went to work for The Texas Company/Texaco, a career that spanned 38 years - starting as a roustabout and working his way up through hard work, long hours, sleep deprivation, loyalty, and dedication to assistant district manager – having responsibility for operations across several states.
Of that 38 years, Birt and Aileen spent 6 years in Sumatra, Indonesia where he worked for Caltex Pacific Indonesia during the 1970s with some of their younger children. He survived malaria early on in his career. There he drilled and produced many wells and helped create roads to and from oil wells in parts of Indonesia. During his life, they moved from home to home in OK and Indonesia as Birt was re-located with his work for Texaco and Caltex multiple times, sometimes at a moment’s notice. Upon returning to OK in 1977 they moved first to Ardmore, then Tulsa where Birt retired in 1989. After the Operation Desert Storm, Birt worked as a contractor to help get the damaged oil wells back into production in Kuwait before returning back to retired life in Tulsa.
Retirement meant he got some time for wood-working, a little boating, and fishing. Later he kept up with the stock market and the news channels, kept up with knowing how to use a computer, printer, and iPhone for many years. He also liked a good movie, loved ice cream, Cadbury chocolate bars, Snickers ice cream bars, Klondike bars, Aileen’s chicken and noodles, and loved taking care of their dog.
We will miss his stories and humor. He worked very hard for his employers, provided well for his family. In his last years he has kept prayer with Jesus a growing, significant part of his life.
Special thanks to all the sitters, nurses, and staff who helped him, the doctors and staff at Springer Clinic, University Village Retirement Community, and Saint Francis Hospital, and Hospice for the assistance and support received.
