Mrs. Elizabeth Russell Exum

COLUMBIA - Elizabeth Russell Exum, known as Betsey, died Sunday, December 4, 2016. She was born in Salisbury, North Carolina on January 30, 1922. She was the daughter of the late Sam Alexander and Agnes Sowers Russell. She attended Catawba College and later studied at Christ Church in Oxford, England. She married the late Clifford Poinsett Exum in 1944. During the war years they were based in Miami, Florida, Shawnee, Oklahoma, and Elk City, Oklahoma. They moved to Clemson, South Carolina and then to Columbia. Their daughters are Elizabeth Exum Courson (Sen. John Edward Courson), Sarah Exum “Sally” Cauthen, and Mary Boykin Exum. Her much loved grandchildren are James Poinsett Courson, Elizabeth Courson Baker (Matt), Harris Russell Courson, William deSaussure Cauthen, and Alexander Poinsett Cauthen. Her great-granddaughters are Elizabeth Mae and Sarah Catherine Baker. In addition to her parents and husband, she was predeceased by her brother, Charles Richard Russell; and her son-in-law, James Roy Cauthen. She was a member of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, where she served on the Board of Daughters of the Holy Cross, the Alter Guild, Bazaar Chairman and Chapter Chairman. She did extensive volunteer work for the Columbia Museum and she was deeply involved in the beginnings of The Still Hopes Retirement Community. She was a member of the Holly Garden Club, The Junior League of Columbia, The Junior League Fiction Club, The Junior League Reading Club, The Thursday Study Club, and The Colonial Dames. She served on the boards of The Colonial Dames, The Arthritis Foundation, The Columbia Ball, and The Junior League of Columbia. Betsey’s funeral service will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on Friday, December 9, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. followed by a reception in Satterlee Hall at the church. A private burial will precede the service in the Trinity Churchyard. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family. Memorials may be made to Trinity Cathedral, 1100 Sumter Street, Columbia, SC 29201; or Still Hopes Retirement Community, PO Box 2959, West Columbia, SC 29171; or a charity of one’s choice. The family expresses gratitude to the staff and Still Hopes family, which was her home for the past eleven years. Please sign the online guestbook at www.dunbarfunerals.com.