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Carol Sue Teeters departed this Earth on the morning of August 18, 2020. Fortunately, her departure was staged from the security of her Bartlesville home and she was surrounded by beloved family members - exactly as she desired.
Sue was born May 7, 1940 in a Phillips oil camp in Borger, TX. The family moved to Bartlesville in 1944. Sue lived across the street from McKinley Elementary School, and then attended Central Junior High and College High School. She was a Wildcat graduate from the class of 1957. She took piano lessons from Mrs. Wienecke and performed as the Sugar Plum Fairy in her ballet's production of The Nutcracker.
She married R.C. Bob Piper while in high school and sons Mike and Scott were born, respectively, in 1957 and 1958. Daughter Betsye followed in 1960. Her kids were happy when she served with the Jaycee-Ettes as a concession server at the Kiddie Park or at the newly founded Sooner Miniature Golf Course. She was also an ardent supporter of the Splash Club and Bartlesville Civic Ballet when her children were participants. She and Bob became a ski boat skippers extraordinaire on Wolf Creek and the Elk River when the family had a boat and weekend residence on Grand Lake.
Sue began a career with Phillips 66 in 1962. During her almost 30-year tenure at Phillips she worked variously in the Supply & Transportation Department, sold fertilizer for Phillips Chemical, and finally ended up as a crude oil purchaser. She was active in and had many friends in the Desk and Derrick Club. She retired from Phillips in 1991.
She married her second husband, Darwin Teeters, in 1977 and lived a busy life in Bartlesville while contending with Darwin's various different temporary geographical dislocations working as an engineer for Phillips. Darwin passed away in 1988.
In 1992 Sue moved to Destin, FL. For the first time in her life she had no job and no boss, no husband, or no other authority figure of any kind influencing her decisions or destination. She packed her car and left Bartlesville for parts unknown. She stayed on the road for a week before announcing her arrival in Florida. After purchasing a condo on the beach in Walton County she became the bonne vivante that she always wished she could be. She played golf, cultivated a new crop of acquaintances and enjoyed the maritime culinary delights that had been so foreign in dusty Oklahoma. She later bought a classic two-story Key West-style house in Santa Rosa Beach and proudly held family court alongside the Gulf of Mexico with her companion Tom Churchill. Kids and grandkids cherished a visit to "Gran's" place on the beach. The entire family has many fond memories of beachside days plumbing sand dollars from the depths, enjoying gin and tonic from the beach club bar, and the spectacular illegal fireworks imported from redneck stands in nearby Alabama that were displayed from the beach for the Fourth of July.
Sue moved back to Bartlesville in February 2015 and has resided here ever since. She still held a limited court with loving family members after her return. Until very recently she insisted on hosting a prime rib dinner on Christmas in her home.
Her family remembers her as a ground-breaker in the field of women advancing within the masculine ranks of Phillips 66 during the 60s and 70s. She was never shy about taking the aggressive role, even in day-to-day household affairs. To us she absolutely personified the commercial slogan of the day: "You've come a long way, baby."
Sue was preceded in death by parents Tearl and Helen Singleterry. She is survived by brother Tom Singleterry of Dallas; sons Mike Piper of Tulsa and Scott Piper of Bartlesville; and daughter Betsye Colvard of Tulsa. Grandson Brandon Piper lives in Little Elm, TX; granddaughters Molly Colvard of Oklahoma City and Chelsea Hoffmann of Jupiter, FL, and all the respective spouses of the family members.
Per Sue's wishes there will be no memorial service or viewing. The family welcomes donations to the City Lights Foundation as an expression of sympathy instead of flowers. If you would like to make a donation please visit www.citylightsok.org/donate .
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