Betty Ruth Anderson

Betty Ruth Anderson was surrounded by family when she passed away at the tender age of 76 on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 in Austell, Georgia after a short battle with Pancreatic Cancer. Betty was one of fourteen children born to Gentry Owens and John Alvis Owens in Lebanon, Tennessee as Betty Ruth Owens where she played basketball at Wilson County High School. She traveled with her sister Della Tolbert to Norfolk, Virginia where she eventually met a Navy seaman named Jerry Anderson. Betty and Jerry married on March 19, 1963 and were married for 54 years.
The Navy sent Jerry to Massachusetts, where he and Betty made a home in Lynn, where they raised their four children – Felicia, Melody, Valarie, and Jerry Anderson Jr. Betty was a career Navy housewife until Jerry retired from the Navy. She had unbelievable style in home décor and fashion. Betty’s trademark in home décor was her numerous chickens and roosters that adorned her kitchen. She always wanted to make sure her children knew right from wrong and she taught them how to dress, shop, and spot a good deal! She also taught her children how to be classy and instilled in them values of hard work and to treat people how you want to be treated.
Betty retired from GTE Sylvania in Danvers, Massachusetts after 30 years serving as an Emergency Sealant Operator. She and Jerry were a loving couple. She enjoyed being a mother, grandmother, great grandmother and friend. Betty was social, funny, witty, and could talk to anyone for hours about basketball, politics, and relationships. Anyone who talked to her always left receiving wise counsel. She was worldly with common sense knowledge and always knew how to figure things out and get things accomplished. She knew how to make a way out of no way. Betty believed that where there was a will, there was a way. She was mindful and direct, giving, loving, and thoughtful. She was God-fearing and advised everyone to pray on their situations. She had a passion for church services and when she could not attend, she watched on television. She was very caring about other people and often said, “If you give, then you’ll never be without because a giver always has.”
Betty is survived by five siblings - Mary Earlene (Glover) Randall (AZ), Alvis Owens Jr (TN), James Henry Owens (VA), Viola Owens Barber (GA), and Howard Owens (GA); Her four children - Felicia Bonner (NC), Melody Fleetwood (GA), Valarie Anderson (GA), and Jerry (Catherine) Anderson Jr. (NC); 10 grandchildren – Clifford Bonner, Derick Bonner, Taminka Bonner, Jordan Stanley, Yvonne Fleetwood, Kevin Fleetwood, Brandon Fleetwood, Gabrielle Fleetwood, Jarron Anderson and Jerry Anderson III; 11 great grandchildren – Corey Shackleford Jr, Evan Shackleford, Javon Bonner, Destiny Bonner, Elisha Bonner, Josiah Bonner, Savannah Bonner, Harvey Bonner, Milton Best, Anyana Best, and Carson Best; and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends.
Betty was proceeded in death by her parents Gentry Owens and John Alvis Owens, and siblings Myra Lee Alexander, Robert Dade Owens, Johnny Copen Owens, William Thomas Owens, Della L. Tolbert, Lena Catherine Ferguson, and Elsia Mai Owens.