Betty Albertson Mayfield

Betty Lou Ann Albertson Mayfield, age 92, passed away Thursday, March 18, 2021, after a long battle with dementia. She was born in the West Lake Avenue area of Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, April 30th, 1927, the sixth child of Henderson “Henry” Charles and Dollie Huskey Albertson. The family moved to and lived in the Maddox Park area until Betty was six years of age. The Wall Street Crash, two years after her birth, would bring the Great American Depression and devastation to families across the country. It affected everyone from major cities to rural areas, from the executives of businesses to the farmers and blue-collar workers. By 1933, America had reached it’s lowest of lows with the economy at it’s worst and many of the banks had failed.

Betty had many fond childhood memories of living in the Maddox Park area. She always remembered the family fishing trips to Brick Yard Lake, the tent revivals in the tabernacle area near their home, riding the streetcars in Atlanta with her Mother, and the many friends and neighbors who lived close to them. She treasured the photographs from her childhood, often writing colorful descriptions on the backs of the photos, “lest we ever forget!”

It was in 1933 that H.C. and Dollie decided to move their family of six children to the small rural area of Lithia Springs, Georgia. He purchased some acreage on Temple Street, hewed his own logs and built a two-room log cabin, which he expanded as two additional children were born in Lithia. They felt this was the best area to raise their children.

Only 21 years earlier, Lithia Springs had been a booming area sporting one of the finest hotel developments in the South, The Sweetwater Park Hotel and the Chautauqua Grounds, which was in operation from 1888 until total destruction from a devastating fire in 1912. Many travelers came to enjoy the pavilions, the grounds and the healing effects of the spring water from the nearby mineral springs. The Sweet Water and Bowden Rail Line (a small rail line with a trolley) would carry guests from the hotel grounds to the springs. The guestlists often contained names of some of the most prominent families in the United States.

By 1933, twenty-one years later, Lithia Springs had resumed the lifestyle of a small, rural country town with little or no evidence of the grandeur of the hotel, cottages or grounds that had entertained some of the richest families who vacationed there. By the time, Betty would move to Lithia Springs, the small rail line where the trolley ran had become a dirt pathway that many children referred to as the “dummy line” and walked it as a short-cut from Lithia to Austell.

A six-year-old Betty Albertson was fascinated with her new home and community, finding many ways to keep herself entertained. She built her own playhouses by collecting enough rocks to lay outlines of rooms and would change her designs to enlarge her make-believe houses on a whim. She would collect pieces of tin, when available, and place on top of rocks building a fire underneath creating a make-shift oven. She would then gather her meals, sometimes just a couple of potatoes, to slice and bake them on her tin-top oven. The log cabin was close enough to the railroad tracks to hear the train whistles and make it to the tracks to collect the engine numbers. She kept a log of the engines’ numbers, with days and times to see how often the same engines would pass through Lithia Springs. When her PaPa brought home a goat, Betty was the first to volunteer to milk the goat. It did not take her long to see how contrary the goat could be, so she worked a system of ropes and pulleys to place under the goat’s belly to hold her up while Betty milked her. She always loved dogs and very rarely did she not have a furry canine friend by her side. She enjoyed a sundry of pets throughout her childhood years including a peacock, bunny rabbits and goats. Once when her PaPa had caught some rabbits in the rabbit traps for dinner, he knocked them out and left them on the back doorsteps for Dollie to skin and cook for supper. Betty found them on the doorsteps, picked each one up, and blew in their faces reviving them. They happily hopped away, and Betty never admitted to what went with the rabbits. She thought for years she had miraculously resuscitated them and brought life back into their little lifeless bodies. Dollie couldn’t ever figure out what went with H.C.’s rabbits that were supposed to be their dinner meal.

True to the children’s rhyme “Monday’s Child”, “Saturday’s child works hard for a living”, Betty was always looking for a way to earn extra cash. When construction began on the new elementary school, which is now Annette Winn Elementary School, she would purchase punch board candy from traveling salesmen who would come by the house, and then take her boards to the construction site to earn spare money. She would sell the punches on the board and depending on whether you purchased a five-cent punch or fifty-cent punch, that would determine the type of candy bar you would win. She showed entrepreneur skills at an early age. From earning extra cash with her punch board candy, or by taking some of the vegetable and fruit crops her Father grew on the farm, loading them in a wagon and traveling on foot around the Lithia community selling fruits and vegetables to families and taking orders for items as she sold out of them. She knew that with a family that had now grown to eight children, two baby brothers had been born since the family had moved to Lithia Springs, that any extra spending money could be used to purchase cloth for school clothes from the traveling salesmen who frequently travelled in the small, rural communities. Her two older sisters had become excellent seamstresses who could create nice wardrobes with the extra cloth Betty purchased.

In her teenage years, she got a job in a five-and-ten-cent store in Austell, walking to and from during her summer vacation. In the summer of 1943, prior to her entering her senior year at Douglas County High School, she rode her bicycle to Clarkdale Thread Mill and got a full-time job, again, working her entire summer vacation. She earned enough money to purchase a life insurance policy on herself, and to pay for her cap, gown, graduation invitations and her Senior high school yearbook. Almost all of the men who worked at the mill had enlisted or been drafted into military service in World War II, leaving job vacancies for women who kept the home-front going during the war.

Betty was an honor graduate in the Class of 1944. After graduating high school in May 1944, she returned to her full-time job at Clarkdale and was most proud of having the opportunity to make the silk threads and cords used in the military parachutes for the war. She would continue her work at Clarkdale Thread Mill until after the birth of her daughter in 1955.

In 1945, when she was 18 years old, her Father sold the log cabin in Lithia Springs, moving his family to a farmhouse and farmland on Mobley Creek in Winston, Georgia. Betty and her Mother, who had been accustomed to catching a Greyhound bus in Austell and travelling to downtown Atlanta for a day of shopping, were in for a rude awakening when they found themselves living in Winston – which they referred to as the end of the Earth. They were now living nowhere near a bus line and began to think they would never get to travel to Atlanta again for their shopping sprees. Betty wondered how in the world she would continue to work at Clarkdale, having to travel so far from Winston. Just as she had shown entrepreneur skills in her childhood, she set out to accomplish finding a variety of carpool rides from the Winston area, leaving home around 3 AM in the morning, catching her first ride so far, and beginning her transfers from one ride to another to reach her final destination. Then reversing her travel arrangements to return home each evening. She soon found living accommodations with a family in the Clarkdale area. She would reside with that family Monday through Friday, always going home to see her parents and siblings on the weekends.

Then in 1947, she met the love of her life, Ed Mayfield. A few months after their first brief meeting, while she was connecting her carpool rides in downtown Douglasville, several young people in the Winston community planned a party for the returning WWII soldier. Betty was invited and Ed asked if he could drive her home that night. He invited her to church and asked for a date for the next day, which was Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. Three months later, they married on August 8, 1947.

Betty spoke of the first place she and Ed called home as “the dance hall”. Located in Austell, it was close to work and places to rent were hard to find after the war was over. It had a tin roof and huge double doors that swung open to reveal a dance area. She and Ed often laughed about the first winter it snowed and when the snow began to melt after the sun came up, they found themselves gathering up buckets and bowls trying to catch all the inside condensation that was coming from the tin roof.

They then moved to their second house they called “the doll house” in Lithia Springs. She said it was originally built as a doll house in someone’s back yard. Regardless of where they lived, they were so happy and in love that it didn’t matter.

They bought their first home on Connally Drive in Douglasville in late 1948. They had wonderful neighbors, who would remain friends for the remainder of their lives, and who’s children were always wanting to come to Ed and Betty’s house to watch The Woody Willow Show on TV. There was always a soft spot in their hearts for those children. It would be in this house Ed and Betty finally had a baby.

It would be eight years before they had their one and only child, Debbie. Betty was a loving wife and devoted mother, spending her life caring for her daughter and her husband until his death in 1989. The Proverbs 31 Woman is often described as a woman well-seasoned and experienced. Betty exemplified that woman in looking after her family and her home, and building her household with a faith-based foundation. She did many of her good deeds anonymously, not ever looking to be glorified for her endeavors. While she was always the strong one of the family, she had a soft heart and those closest to her reaped the benefits of her gentle kindness.

As a child, Betty always had a desire to learn to play the piano. Her older siblings had that opportunity while living in Atlanta, but once the family moved to Lithia Springs, Betty never had the opportunity for piano lessons. When she gave birth to a daughter, she always said she hoped her daughter would want to pursue piano lessons. When her daughter was eight years old, she asked to take piano lessons. Ed and Betty made many sacrifices so their daughter could take lessons and Betty sat through every single lesson that Debbie took. Anytime that Debbie sat down to play, Betty made time to sit and listen. Many memories were made around the piano with singing and laughter, shared with anyone who wanted an evening of musical entertainment. Betty and Ed’s encouragement and support enabled Debbie’s desire to become a church pianist opening the doors for many opportunities to share in her God-given talents and to share her testimony.

Betty was a prankster, loved her jokes and was always known for her lively stories, whether it was about growing up during the Depression, fishing in Mobley Creek with a crank telephone or antics she encountered during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing golf and tennis with her husband and daughter. It has often been said by friends and acquaintances that where you saw one, you usually saw all three together. In her later years she enjoyed reading, Bible study and working word puzzles.

Debbie said that one of her favorite childhood memories would include the picnics on the big rock in the woods near their house. It never mattered what foods were packed in the basket, just knowing that Mama spending time with her was all that mattered. The smallest of gifts throughout Debbie’s childhood were the memories she said she would always hold close to her heart and treasure for the rest of her life. The reading of books and bedtime stories, especially the children’s Bible stories, playing Parcheesi and all the games they loved to play, going to Hunter Park to feed the ducks and walk around the lake, the Fourth of July and Labor Day parades, or just spending Saturday afternoons in the late 50s and early 60s on the Front Street visiting with people gathered to mingle from car to car – those were the smallest of tokens to a child who grew up with parents who knew how to appreciate every moment life has to offer.

Debbie said that her Mama and Daddy always made sure she felt like she was Number One in their lives and always let her know that she was their “Pride and Joy”.

In 1979, Betty went to work as a paraprofessional with the Douglas County School System, retiring in 1990 after her husband’s passing. From 1980 until 1986, she worked as a paraprofessional in the Math Department at Stewart Middle School with Principal Jim Steele. She always said those were some of her most enjoyable years. She loved the staff she worked with and the students, who fondly nicknamed her “Granny Flash” because she moved so quickly up and down the hallways. Following retirement, she continued to work as a substitute teacher for several more years.

She was proud of her family raising, especially attending those tent revivals at the tabernacle that would set up near their home in Maddox Park, and attending different churches as a child in the Lithia Springs area. She would always let you know that she had a deep, profound faith in her Lord which often resulted in lively discussions about the Bible. She and Ed were members at Powell’s Chapel Methodist Church in Villa Rica from the time they married until they were baptized at Sunset Hills Baptist Church in January 1979. Debbie had become pianist at Sunset Hills in September 1978. When she became a candidate for baptism, Ed and Betty became candidates for baptism with her. Betty remained a long-time member of Sunset Hills Baptist Church, but faithfully attended the churches where her daughter served as church pianist until her health began to fail.

Betty was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 42 years, Edward Frank Mayfield; her parents, Henderson “Henry” C. and Dollie Huskey Albertson; brothers, Juell Albertson, Hoyt Albertson, Earl Albertson and Robert “Bob” Albertson; sisters, Bonnie Albertson Daniell and Hazel Albertson Naron; and the beloved family canine companion, Mr. FooFoo.

Those left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Debra Mayfield; her faithful canine companion, BooBoo; brother, William “Bill” Albertson; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A special thank you to the staff and caregivers at Legacy Ridge at Sweetwater in Lithia Springs, and to the staff of Sacred Journey Hospice for the tender love and care in her final days.

A private funeral service for the immediate family was held on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 2:00 PM. She was laid to rest at Sunrise Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in memory of Betty Mayfield to Douglas County Animal Services, 2171 Mack Road, Douglasville, Georgia 30135, or to The Alzheimer’s Association to help fund research for a cure for dementia and Alzheimer’s, https://www.alz.org/research

Those who wish may send condolences or share a special memory of Betty may do so at www.whitleygarner.com

Arrangements by Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home, Douglasville, GA 30134 770-942-4246

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So Mama, while my heart breaks right now and the tears still flow freely, I have the peace and comfort to know that one day we will all be together again. In the meantime, I will hold close to my heart the faint melody from the past of you singing to me “You Are My Sunshine” and hearing you always tell me “You loved me to the Moon and Back”. I will always love you and be eternally grateful for a childhood that I considered to be the “Golden Book of Childhood Memories”.

All My Love Forever – Poochie

Your Little Honeypot

While you resided in the world of dementia for almost 12 years, I found comfort in the poem “Two Mothers Remembered” by Joann Snow Duncanson.

This poem became my daily mantra and served as a reminder that I would not ever be able to enter that world you resided in for those last 12 years. No one can ever understand the world of dementia, or any form of Alzeheimer’s, until they have lived with a loved one who is locked in that world.

I do thank God that I was blessed to have had you as my Mother for 66 years and you knew who I was right up until the end. You blew kisses to me on that final Valentine’s Day, sang “Happy Birthday” to me for the last time by video chat the night of my birthday, and then one month and two days later you were gone from my life. It still breaks my heart to know that as long as I live this earthly life, I will not ever feel the touch of your hand, your hug when I need one, or the brush of your kiss on my cheek. I felt that it was appropriate to ask Pastor Ikey to read this poem at your committal service.

Rest in Peace, Mama………

Two Mothers Remembered

~ By Joann Snow Duncanson

I had two Mothers – two Mothers I claim

Two different people, yet with the same name.

Two separate women, diverse by design,

But I loved them both because they were mine.

The first was the Mother who carried me here,

Gave birth and nurtured and launched my career.

She was the one whose features I bear,

Complete with the facial expressions I wear.

She gave me her love, which follows me yet,

Along with the examples in life that she set.

As I got older, she somehow younger grew,

And we’d laugh as just Mothers and daughters should do.

But then came the time that her mind clouded so,

And I sensed that the Mother I knew would soon go.

So quickly she changed and turned into the other,

A stranger who dressed in the clothes of my Mother.

Oh, she looked the same, at least at arm’s length,

But now she was the child and I was her strength.

We’d come full circle, we women three,

My Mother the first, the second and me.

And if my own children should come to a day,

When a new Mother comes and the old goes away,

I’d ask of them nothing that I didn’t do.

Love both of your Mothers as both have loved you.

* * * * * * * * * *

Betty Albertson Mayfield, age 93, of Douglasville, GA passed away Thursday, March 18, 2021. She was born April 30, 1927 in Atlanta, GA. A loving wife and devoted mother, she spent her life caring for her husband and daughter. One of Betty’s favorite memories was moving from Atlanta to Lithia Springs in 1933, at the age of six, where she and her family lived in a log cabin, built by her father. After graduating from Douglas County High School in 1944, she worked at Clarkdale Thread Mill, where during World War II she made cords for parachutes used in WWII. In 1945, when she was 18 years old, her father sold the log cabin and moved the family to Winston—which she felt like was the end of the Earth. She met the love of her life, Ed Mayfield, and they had their first date on Easter Sunday, April 6,1947. Three months later, they married on August 8, 1947. Betty was a prankster, loved her jokes and was always known for her lively stories, whether it was about growing up during the Depression, fishing in Mobley Creek with a crank telephone or antics she encountered during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing golf and tennis with her husband and daughter, and in later years enjoyed reading, Bible study and working word puzzles. Betty was retired from the Douglas County School System where she worked as a paraprofessional and following retirement, she continued to work as a substitute teacher. She was proud of her family raising, especially attending different churches as a child in the Lithia Springs area. She would always let you know that she had a deep, profound faith in her Lord which often resulted in lively discussions about the Bible. She was a long-time member of Sunset Hills Baptist Church, but faithfully attended the churches where her daughter served as church pianist until her health began to fail.

She was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 42 years, Edward Frank Mayfield; her parents, Henry C. and Dollie Huskey Albertson; brothers, Juell Albertson, Hoyt Albertson, Earl Albertson and Robert “Bob” Albertson; sisters, Bonnie Albertson Daniell and Hazel Albertson Naron; and the beloved family canine companion, Mr. FooFoo.

Those left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Debra Mayfield; her faithful canine companion, BooBoo; brother, William “Bill” Albertson; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A special thank you to the staff and caregivers at Legacy Ridge at Sweetwater in Lithia Springs, and to the staff of Sacred Journey Hospice for the tender love and care in her final days.

A private funeral service for the immediate family will be held on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 2:00 PM. She will be laid to rest at Sunrise Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in memory of Betty Mayfield to Douglas County Animal Services, 2171 Mack Road, Douglasville, Georgia 30135, or to The Alzheimer’s Association to help fund research for a cure for dementia and Alzheimer’s, https://www.alz.org/research

Those who wish may send condolences or share a special memory of Betty may do so at www.whitleygarner.com

Arrangements by Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home, Douglasville, GA 30134

770-942-4246

Biography -- Life Story

Betty Lou Ann Albertson Mayfield was born in the West Lake Avenue area of Atlanta, Georgia on a Saturday, April 30th, 1927, the sixth child of Henderson “Henry” Charles and Dollie Huskey Albertson. The family moved to the Maddox Park area until Betty was six years of age. The Wall Street Crash, two years after her birth, would bring the Great American Depression and devastation to families across the country. It affected everyone from major cities to rural areas, from the executives of businesses to the farmers and blue-collar workers. By 1933, America had reached it’s lowest of lows with the economy at it’s worst and many of the banks had failed.

Betty had many fond childhood memories of living in the Maddox Park area. She always remembered the family fishing trips to Brick Yard Lake, the tent revivals in the tabernacle area near their home, riding the streetcars in Atlanta with her Mother, and the many friends and neighbors who lived close to them. She treasured the photographs from her childhood, often writing colorful descriptions on the backs of the photos, “lest we ever forget!”

It was in 1933 that H.C. and Dollie decided to move their family of six children to the small rural area of Lithia Springs, Georgia. He purchased some acreage on Temple Street, hewed his own logs and built a two-room log cabin, which he expanded as two additional children were born in Lithia. They felt this was the best area to raise their children.

Only 21 years earlier, Lithia Springs had been a booming area sporting one of the finest hotel developments in the South, The Sweetwater Park Hotel and the Chautauqua Grounds, which was in operation from 1888 until total destruction from a devastating fire in 1912. Many travelers came to enjoy the pavilions, the grounds and the healing effects of the spring water from the nearby mineral springs. The Sweet Water and Bowden Rail Line (a small rail line with a trolley) would carry guests from the hotel grounds to the springs. The guestlists often contained names of some of the most prominent families in the United States.

By 1933, twenty-one years later, Lithia Springs had resumed the lifestyle of a small, rural country town with little or no evidence of the grandeur of the hotel, cottages or grounds that had entertained some of the richest families who vacationed there. By the time, Betty would move to Lithia Springs, the small rail line where the trolley ran had become a dirt pathway that many children referred to as the “dummy line” and walked it as a short-cut from Lithia to Austell.

A six-year-old Betty Albertson was fascinated with her new home and community, finding many ways to keep herself entertained. She built her own playhouses by collecting enough rocks to lay outlines of rooms and would change her designs to enlarge her make-believe houses on a whim. She would collect pieces of tin, when available, and place on top of rocks building a fire underneath creating a make-shift oven. She would then gather her meals, sometimes just a couple of potatoes, to slice and bake them on her tin-top oven. The log cabin was close enough to the railroad tracks to hear the train whistles and make it to the tracks to collect the engine numbers. She kept a log of the engines’ numbers, with days and times to see how often the same engines would pass through Lithia Springs. When her PaPa brought home a goat, Betty was the first to volunteer to milk the goat. It did not take her long to see how contrary the goat could be, so she worked a system of ropes and pulleys to place under the goat’s belly to hold her up while Betty milked her. She always loved dogs and very rarely did she not have a furry canine friend by her side. She enjoyed a sundry of pets throughout her childhood years including a peacock, bunny rabbits and goats. Once when her PaPa had caught some rabbits in the rabbit traps for dinner, he knocked them out and left them on the back doorsteps for Dollie to skin and cook for supper. Betty found them on the doorsteps, picked each one up, and blew in their faces reviving them. They happily hopped away, and Betty never admitted to what went with the rabbits. She thought for years she had miraculously resuscitated them and brought life back into their little lifeless bodies. Dollie couldn’t ever figure out what went with H.C.’s rabbits that were supposed to be their dinner meal.

True to the children’s rhyme “Monday’s Child”, “Saturday’s child works hard for a living”, Betty was always looking for a way to earn extra cash. When construction began on the new elementary school, which is now Annette Winn Elementary School, she would purchase punch board candy from traveling salesmen who would come by the house, and then take her boards to the construction site to earn spare money. She would sell the punches on the board and depending on whether you purchased a five-cent punch or fifty-cent punch, that would determine the type of candy bar you would win. She showed entrepreneur skills at an early age. From earning extra cash with her punch board candy, or by taking some of the vegetable and fruit crops her Father grew on the farm, loading them in a wagon and traveling on foot around the Lithia community selling fruits and vegetables to families and taking orders for items as she sold out of them. She knew that with a family that had now grown to eight children, two baby brothers had been born since the family had moved to Lithia Springs, that any extra spending money could be used to purchase cloth for school clothes from the traveling salesmen who frequently travelled in the small, rural communities. Her two older sisters had become excellent seamstresses who could create nice wardrobes with the extra cloth Betty purchased.

In her teenage years, she got a job in a five-and-ten-cent store in Austell, walking to and from during her summer vacation. In the summer of 1943, prior to her entering her senior year at Douglas County High School, she rode her bicycle to Clarkdale Thread Mill and got a full-time job, again, working her entire summer vacation. She earned enough money to purchase a life insurance policy on herself, and to pay for her cap, gown, graduation invitations and her Senior high school yearbook. Almost all of the men who worked at the mill had enlisted or been drafted into military service in World War II, leaving job vacancies for women who kept the home-front going during the war.

Betty was an honor graduate in the Class of 1944. After graduating high school in May 1944, she returned to her full-time job at Clarkdale and was most proud of having the opportunity to make the silk threads and cords used in the military parachutes for the war. She would continue her work at Clarkdale Thread Mill until after the birth of her daughter in 1955.

In 1945, when she was 18 years old, her Father sold the log cabin in Lithia Springs, moving his family to a farmhouse and farmland on Mobley Creek in Winston, Georgia. Betty and her Mother, who had been accustomed to catching a Greyhound bus in Austell and travelling to downtown Atlanta for a day of shopping, were in for a rude awakening when they found themselves living in Winston – which they referred to as the end of the Earth. They were now living nowhere near a bus line and began to think they would never get to travel to Atlanta again for their shopping sprees. Betty wondered how in the world she would continue to work at Clarkdale, having to travel so far from Winston. Just as she had shown entrepreneur skills in her childhood, she set out to accomplish finding a variety of carpool rides from the Winston area, leaving home around 3 AM in the morning, catching her first ride so far, and beginning her transfers from one ride to another to reach her final destination. Then reversing her travel arrangements to return home each evening. She soon found living accommodations with a family in the Clarkdale area. She would reside with that family Monday through Friday, always going home to see her parents and siblings on the weekends.

Then in 1947, she met the love of her life, Ed Mayfield. A few months after their first brief meeting, while she was connecting her carpool rides in downtown Douglasville, several young people in the Winston community planned a party for the returning WWII soldier. Betty was invited and Ed asked if he could drive her home that night. He invited her to church and asked for a date for the next day, which was Easter Sunday, April 6, 1947. Three months later, they married on August 8, 1947.

Betty spoke of the first place she and Ed called home as “the dance hall”. Located in Austell, it was close to work and places to rent were hard to find after the war was over. It had a tin roof and huge double doors that swung open to reveal a dance area. She and Ed often laughed about the first winter it snowed and when the snow began to melt after the sun came up, they found themselves gathering up buckets and bowls trying to catch all the inside condensation that was coming from the tin roof.

They then moved to their second house they called “the doll house” in Lithia Springs. She said it was originally built as a doll house in someone’s back yard. Regardless of where they lived, they were so happy and in love that it didn’t matter.

They bought their first home on Connally Drive in Douglasville in late 1948. They had wonderful neighbors, who would remain friends for the remainder of their lives, and who’s children were always wanting to come to Ed and Betty’s house to watch The Woody Willow Show on TV. There was always a soft spot in their hearts for those children. It would be in this house Ed and Betty finally had a baby.

It would be eight years before they had their one and only child, Debbie. Betty was a loving wife and devoted mother, spending her life caring for her daughter and her husband until his death in 1989. The Proverbs 31 Woman is often described as a woman well-seasoned and experienced. Betty exemplified that woman in looking after her family and her home, and building her household with a faith-based foundation. She did many of her good deeds anonymously, not ever looking to be glorified for her endeavors. While she was always the strong one of the family, she had a soft heart and those closest to her reaped the benefits of her gentle kindness.

As a child, Betty always had a desire to learn to play the piano. Her older siblings had that opportunity while living in Atlanta, but once the family moved to Lithia Springs, Betty never had the opportunity for piano lessons. When she gave birth to a daughter, she always said she hoped her daughter would want to pursue piano lessons. When her daughter was eight years old, she asked to take piano lessons. Ed and Betty made many sacrifices so their daughter could take lessons and Betty sat through every single lesson that Debbie took. Anytime that Debbie sat down to play, Betty made time to sit and listen. Many memories were made around the piano with singing and laughter, shared with anyone who wanted an evening of musical entertainment. Betty and Ed’s encouragement and support enabled Debbie’s desire to become a church pianist opening the doors for many opportunities to share in her God-given talents and to share her testimony.

Betty was a prankster, loved her jokes and was always known for her lively stories, whether it was about growing up during the Depression, fishing in Mobley Creek with a crank telephone or antics she encountered during her lifetime. She enjoyed playing golf and tennis with her husband and daughter. It has often been said by friends and acquaintances that where you saw one, you usually saw all three together. In her later years she enjoyed reading, Bible study and working word puzzles.

Debbie said that one of her favorite childhood memories would include the picnics on the big rock in the woods near their house. It never mattered what foods were packed in the basket, just knowing that Mama spending time with her was all that mattered. The smallest of gifts throughout Debbie’s childhood were the memories she said she would always hold close to her heart and treasure for the rest of her life. The reading of books and bedtime stories, especially the children’s Bible stories, playing Parcheesi and all the games they loved to play, going to Hunter Park to feed the ducks and walk around the lake, the Fourth of July and Labor Day parades, or just spending Saturday afternoons in the late 50s and early 60s on the Front Street visiting with people gathered to mingle from car to car – those were the smallest of tokens to a child who grew up with parents who knew how to appreciate every moment life has to offer.

Debbie said that her Mama and Daddy always made sure she felt like she was Number One in their lives and always let her know that she was their “Pride and Joy”.

In 1979, Betty went to work as a paraprofessional with the Douglas County School System, retiring in 1990 after her husband’s passing. From 1980 until 1986, she worked as a paraprofessional in the Math Department at Stewart Middle School with Principal Jim Steele. She always said those were some of her most enjoyable years. She loved the staff she worked with and the students, who fondly nicknamed her “Granny Flash” because she moved so quickly up and down the hallways. Following retirement, she continued to work as a substitute teacher for several more years.

She was proud of her family raising, especially attending those tent revivals at the tabernacle that would set up near their home in Maddox Park, and attending different churches as a child in the Lithia Springs area. She would always let you know that she had a deep, profound faith in her Lord which often resulted in lively discussions about the Bible. She and Ed were members at Powell’s Chapel Methodist Church in Villa Rica from the time they married until they were baptized at Sunset Hills Baptist Church in January 1979. Debbie had become pianist at Sunset Hills in September 1978. When she became a candidate for baptism, Ed and Betty became candidates for baptism with her. Betty remained a long-time member of Sunset Hills Baptist Church, but faithfully attended the churches where her daughter served as church pianist until her health began to fail.

Betty was preceded in death by her beloved husband of 42 years, Edward Frank Mayfield; her parents, Henderson “Henry” C. and Dollie Huskey Albertson; brothers, Juell Albertson, Hoyt Albertson, Earl Albertson and Robert “Bob” Albertson; sisters, Bonnie Albertson Daniell and Hazel Albertson Naron; and the beloved family canine companion, Mr. FooFoo.

Those left to cherish her memory are her daughter, Debra Mayfield; her faithful canine companion, BooBoo; brother, William “Bill” Albertson; numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

A special thank you to the staff and caregivers at Legacy Ridge at Sweetwater in Lithia Springs, and to the staff of Sacred Journey Hospice for the tender love and care in her final days.

A private funeral service for the immediate family was held on Monday, March 22, 2021 at 2:00 PM. She was laid to rest at Sunrise Memorial Gardens.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making donations in memory of Betty Mayfield to Douglas County Animal Services, 2171 Mack Road, Douglasville, Georgia 30135, or to The Alzheimer’s Association to help fund research for a cure for dementia and Alzheimer’s, https://www.alz.org/research

Those who wish may send condolences or share a special memory of Betty may do so at www.whitleygarner.com

Arrangements by Whitley-Garner at Rosehaven Funeral Home, Douglasville, GA 30134 770-942-4246

So Mama, while my heart breaks right now and the tears still flow freely, I have the peace and comfort to know that one day we will all be together again. In the meantime, I will hold close to my heart the faint melody from the past of you singing to me “You Are My Sunshine” and hearing you always tell me “You loved me to the Moon and Back”. I will always love you and be eternally grateful for a childhood that I considered to be the “Golden Book of Childhood Memories”.

All My Love Forever – Poochie

Your Little Honeypot

While you resided in the world of dementia for almost 12 years, I found comfort in the poem “Two Mothers Remembered” by Joann Snow Duncanson.

This poem became my daily mantra and served as a reminder that I would not ever be able to enter that world you resided in for those last 12 years. No one can ever understand the world of dementia, or any form of Alzeheimer’s, until they have lived with a loved one who is locked in that world.

I do thank God that I was blessed to have had you as my Mother for 66 years and you knew who I was right up until the end. You blew kisses to me on that final Valentine’s Day, sang “Happy Birthday” to me for the last time by video chat the night of my birthday, and then one month and two days later you were gone from my life. It still breaks my heart to know that as long as I live this earthly life, I will not ever feel the touch of your hand, your hug when I need one, or the brush of your kiss on my cheek. I felt that it was appropriate to ask Pastor Ikey to read this poem at your committal service.

Rest in Peace, Mama………

Two Mothers Remembered

~ By Joann Snow Duncanson

I had two Mothers – two Mothers I claim

Two different people, yet with the same name.

Two separate women, diverse by design,

But I loved them both because they were mine.

The first was the Mother who carried me here,

Gave birth and nurtured and launched my career.

She was the one whose features I bear,

Complete with the facial expressions I wear.

She gave me her love, which follows me yet,

Along with the examples in life that she set.

As I got older, she somehow younger grew,

And we’d laugh as just Mothers and daughters should do.

But then came the time that her mind clouded so,

And I sensed that the Mother I knew would soon go.

So quickly she changed and turned into the other,

A stranger who dressed in the clothes of my Mother.

Oh, she looked the same, at least at arm’s length,

But now she was the child and I was her strength.

We’d come full circle, we women three,

My Mother the first, the second and me.

And if my own children should come to a day,

When a new Mother comes and the old goes away,

I’d ask of them nothing that I didn’t do.

Love both of your Mothers as both have loved you.