Edra Balentine

Edra Belle Tinsley Balentine, 92, of Copan, Oklahoma, passed from this life January 14, 2022.

Edra was born November 23, 1929, to Claude H. Tinsley and Anna J. (Aduddell) Tinsley in El Reno, Oklahoma.  The family moved to Osage County in 1937.  She attended and graduated from Mound Valley School, north of Hominy, Oklahoma.  Edra then moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma and worked at Phillips Petroleum Company.  She married T.J. Balentine in December 1947. She joined her husband with the United States Air Force in 1952.  Edra worked in Civil Service at that time.  Their first son, David H., was born in 1954 at the McCord Air Base, near Tacoma, Washington. They were transferred to Hill Air Force Base near Ogden, Utah, where their second son, Terry J. was born in 1955.  After T.J.’s honorable discharge from the Air Force, they returned to Bartlesville. Their third child, Vicki A., was born in 1959.  Edra was an excellent seamstress and enjoyed creating garments for her family.  She also did upholstery and made seat covers for their airplane.  Edra also learned to fly, along with her husband, T.J.  Her first solo flight was in Independence, Kansas in 1968 in a Cessna 150.

Survivors include her three children, David H. Balentine of Copan, Terry J. Balentine and wife, Jo of Bartlesville, and Vicki A. Balentine of Copan; five grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; other relatives and many friends.

Funeral service will be 11 a.m., Monday, January 24, 2022, at Word of Truth Fellowship, Bartlesville, with Pastor Jim Anderson, officiating.  Interment will be in Bartlesville Memorial Park Cemetery, under the direction of Arnold Moore & Neekamp Funeral Home. To leave an online condolence, visit www.honoringmemories.com.