Betty Okanak Templeton is an old friend of Lady Elaine Fairchilde who lives in Southwood. She marries Michael Templeton Jones and together they adopt a baby girl, Carrie Dell.
Betty Okanak Templeton Jones is quite a character! She’s a chatty, non-stop talker and calls everyone “hon.” When she gets going, the others can hardly get a word in edgewise! But with all her chatter, she is kind and always ready to step in to give a hand, especially to help her old friend and schoolmate Lady Elaine Fairchilde.
This puppet character was named for Betty Okanak who was a cousin of Fred Rogers and one of his favorite relatives. She was a close friend and playmate when they were growing up.
Betty’s marriage to Michael Jones gives viewers the opportunity to see a wedding ceremony and what it means to children. Later, she and Michael Jones adopt a baby, offering caring talk about what it means to be adopted, helping children understand that adoption is another way to make a family.
Her “starring” role, and one she thoroughly enjoyed was as a starfish in the opera “A Granddad for Daniel.”
Michael Horton was the voice and puppeteer behind Betty Okanak Templeton and Michael Jones. He described his character a “feisty, babbling Southern matron.”
