Obituary of Betty Jo Cotton

Eastover—Mrs. Betty Jo Cotton, 84, passed away on Thursday, July 2, 2020. She was born on April 23, 1936 in Columbia, SC to the late Evelyn and Emmett McCabe.

 

She attended Dreher High School. Mrs. Betty Jo married Bobby Cotton and they built their home and started their lives in Eastover. She loved working with her flowers, and it was a good thing because they built their home in a cornfield. She had several acres to transform into a yard and beautiful flower garden. She worked on this garden for 57 years. Walking through her yard was a treat to all of your senses. Beautiful blooms, wonderful fragrances, and birdsongs everywhere. The blooms on some of the flowers were beyond compare. Mrs. Betty Jo was a lifetime homemaker, with a large family, so she spent many hours cooking, canning and freezing daddy’s garden vegetables. (and she still had time to take the four of us to the community pond to swim). She was a lifetime member of Lebanon United Methodist Church. She participated in Sunday School and church. She adored her church and her church family.

Mrs. Betty Jo’s baking skills were second to none. We would wait for the next Southern Living cake. We each had our favorite cake, she always had each of us a nice birthday dinner with, of course, our cake. She taught each of us how to cook, insuring we could take care of ourselves when we grew up. It was important to her to instill independence into each of us.

Left to cherish her memory are her four children, Jo Ann Amick (Bryan), Johnny Cotton (Shari), Jerry Cotton (Gale), and Jenny Alvey (Rion); grandchildren, Jerry Cotton Jr, Rebecca Atkinson, Ashley Ingalls, Brittany Steed, Tripp Williams, Laura Alvey, Sarah Adame, Ashley Amick, Jamie Schaufler; her blessings continued with great grandchildren, Austin Cotton, Brooks, Fitz, and Hamp Ingalls, Cade Atkinson, Courtney, AJ Amick, Dylan and Eli Schaufler, and Mike Hartley.

In addition to her parents, Mrs. Betty Jo is predeceased by her husband, Bobby; and two brothers, Frank and James McCabe.

A private family service will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2020.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Lebanon United Methodist Church, 10220 Garners Ferry Rd. Eastover, SC 29044.

Please sign the online guestbook at thompsonsfuneral.com.