Bart Betow loved music, writing, sports, good friends, family and Sooner football. Especially when the University of Oklahoma played Nebraska. So Saturday, the dedication day for a campus fountain in his honor, was a Bart Betow kind of day.
"Bart's Fountain," located just west of Walker Tower in the heart of OU campus housing, will be a place for students to gather, take study breaks, play music or just relax.
"His spirit on the OU campus as a member of the family is here," said OU President David Boren. Betow, the son of Gary Betow and Kathy McKeown of Tulsa, died in an automobile accident three years ago, just as he had started his freshman year at OU.
Gary Betow said Bart would be proud that the fountain built in his memory was dedicated on the day OU played Nebraska in football. "We hope it will be a gathering place where students can find serenity," Betow said.
Boren said life is not measured by length but by quality. Memories of past loved ones make us richer and fuller, he added.
"When we truly love someone, just the fact that they aren't physically with us doesn't mean they are not a part of us," Boren said.
Friends and family members donated to build the fountain in Bart's honor. OU landscaping director Allen King plans to add trees to the area later this year.
"At some point in time, this entire area will be covered by a canopy of trees," King said.
Denise Villani, a family friend, said she hoped students will gather at the fountain and find peace there. Tulsa classmate Dewey Bartlett III said he will always remember Bart's laugh.
"It's often described as infectious," he said. Bart's life, he said, was one of "compassion, humor, intelligence and unfulfilled potential."
His father dedicated the fountain to parents who send their sons and daughters to the university.
"They come here filled with big dreams. I can assure you their parents have even bigger dreams," Betow said.
Local news
Fountain dedicated on university campus
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