Betty Branscom

Betty Lou Branscom, 74, passed away quietly at the Rapid City Regional Hospital surrounded by her family on Saturday, March 21, 2009, after a short time of not feeling well.
Betty was born at the family ranch near Sayle, Montana , being the 7th of ten children of Chalmers Frank and Katie Eglontine Avery McKenzie. Her dad was a World War I Purple Heart recipient. She attended country school through the 8th grade at Billup School traveling with her siblings 4 ½ miles each way . The kids would load up as many as would fit onto the horse, ride thru any type of weather, hobble the horse at the school to graze, and hope he wouldn't make it all the way home before they could catch him after school to ride part way back home. During her high school years, she lived with her older sister, Darlene Griffin and her family in Sheridan, Wyoming, graduating from Sheridan High in 1952. Betty spent many long days as a young girl herding sheep in the Powder River Breaks as her family had a large herd and every child was expected to do their share of the work. Sheep herding was rooted deep into her blood as she was still running a small band at the time of her death. After graduation, She moved to the Skull Creek community at Osage, Wy to live with another sister and brother in-law, Sally and Ed Long. It was during this time she met Ned E. Branscom from Osage. They were married on June 23, 1956, at Rapid City, S.D. Shortly after marrying, they moved for a short time to Oregon, were ranch hands for Foster Field, lived southeast of Upton for a while, then moved to the Butte Pipeline Station on Skull Creek where Ned was employed by True for many years to follow. Their daughter, Fonda Faye, was born on January 3, 1957 and son Clayton Edward came along on April 7, 1959. When her children were young, Betty loved to take them on long walks where they could enjoy the outdoors. In the spring of 1972, Ned and Betty purchased Jim and Myrtle Butcher's ranch 5 miles southwest of Osage where Ned had worked as a young man milking cows. Then in 1983 they bought Cecil Fulton's place on Fiddler Creek. Since Ned loved to team rope, Betty spent a lot of time working the chute in the arena at home for practice and traveling around the area with him to ropings. She had a habit of getting excited while watching, especially when Ned and Clay were partnered up. On October 10, 1988, Ned passed away after a long battle with cancer. Betty continued to ranch and later added to the outfit by purchasing the ranch of Francis and Dorothy Cowger also on Fiddler Creek. This allowed her to also increase her cattle herd that she and Ned had started. Being a grandma was a joy for Betty as she had four grandsons, two granddaughters, and four great grandsons. She loved going to their school concerts, basketball games, and just doing" grandma things" with them.
Leaving this life before her were her parents, Frank and Katie, two sisters Darlene "Eddas" Roy Griffin , Helen "Sally" Ed Long, and brothers Lloyd "Bud" Martha, James "Dick" Betty Joan, Remaining to remember her are two sisters, Marion "Dolly" late husband Robert Sept, Bonnie McKenzie, three brothers C.F. Jr "Chub" Roberta, Raynard late wife Linda, and Wayne Diane, one daughter Fonda and Vernon McFarlin of Fort Lupton, CO. and one son Clay and Jodene Branscom of the ranch at Osage. She has six grandchildren, V.J. Tami , Brandon Jamie , Adam, and Cody Melissa McFarlin, and Taren and Lindsey Branscom, and four great-grandchildren, Dayton and Dylan McFarlin, Colter McFarlin, and Austin McFarlin.
A memorial has been established to the Osage Volunteer Ambulance Service. Services were held on Saturday, March 28 and internment was at the Greenwood Cemetery in Newcastle, WY. with Worden Funeral Directors in charge of arrangements.