Sally “Betty” Elizabeth Rowell Mayhew passed away peacefully on Thursday, June 12th, surrounded by her family, at her home in Oxford, NC.
She was born August 18th, 1939, to Julien and Rudene Rowell of Fitzgerald, Georgia, where at the age of 19, she met the love of her life, Ron Mayhew, and her life began in earnest.
They married within the year and were soon traveling together around the world, living in almost every state of the Union. After settling in Puerto Rico for five years, working for the San Juan Herald and learning to speak Spanish, she and Ron returned to the United States. While living in Pennsylvania, they decided to have a family and adopted a daughter. When Ron began to work for Northern Telecom in the Research Triangle, they settled in Butner, where Betty began a thirty-year career at John Umstead Hospital as a Medical Records Clerk.
She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Ron, and her brother Robert Rowell. She is survived by her daughter, Lisa Mayhew; son-in-law, Barry Smith; grandchildren, Madeleine and Miranda Hubbard, Jillian and Cooper Carlisle; Harrison Smith; brother and sister-in-law, Kelly and Reda Rowell; nephews, John Rowell and David Holmes; and godson, Sean Manning.
Betty’s most important desire was that there be no immediate service following her death, but to have a memorial service at a later date, after her cremation and rejoining her beloved Ron. She wished for her friends and loved ones to be able to remember and celebrate her vibrant life with love, joy, and happiness, instead of grieving her passing. In lieu of flowers, she wished for donations to be made in her name to the Granville County animal shelter, as browsing the “last day at the pound” photos was one of her favorite things to do.