Obituary of Janice Metts Beatty

WEST COLUMBIA—Janice Metts Beatty, 75, of West Columbia passed away on Saturday, December 28, 2013. Born in Columbia, she was a daughter of the late Clifford Wingard "Rub" Metts and Violet Jennings Metts. She was an area resident for most of her life and attended Brooklyn Cayce High School, class of 1956 where she was a member of the four-time State Champion Marching Band. She attended USC for 2 years then received a Bachelors Degree from Lenoir Rhyne College in Hickory, NC. Mrs. Beatty also did graduate work at North Carolina State and taught in the North Carolina Public School System. In 1970 the Beatty family moved to South Carolina where Mrs. Beatty worked in a variety of positions as an accountant and office manager. Mrs. Beatty also had a great passion for historical research focusing on pre-Civil War Charleston. Janice was a graduate of the 1987 Class of Master Gardeners in Lexington County and in 1994 initiated a newsletter called the "Green Sheet". Her vision for the "Green Sheet" was to educate, inspire and entertain fellow Master Gardeners. Janice was also instrumental in creating a library for the Master Gardeners of Lexington County which was later named for her. She became known to her fellow members as "The Diva". Surviving are her loving husband of 53 years, David L. Beatty, Sr. of West Columbia; son, David Lee Beatty, Jr. (Bethany) of Stow, MA; one grandson, Rand Anderson Beatty; sisters, Merri Metts Kuykendall (Lloyd) of Atlanta, GA and Jo Metts Weston (Scott) of Miami, FL along with several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her sister, Suzan Cherry Metts. Services will be private at the convenience of the family. Thompson Funeral Home of Lexington, 4720 Augusta Road, Lexington, SC 29073 will be assisting the family. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Master Gardeners Association of Lexington County.