Betty Harrell Mathis, 78, of Ethelsville, AL passed away, Wednesday, November 27, 2013, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – Golden Triangle, Columbus, MS. Visitation for Mrs. Mathis was Friday, November 29, 2013, from 6 – 8 PM at Lowndes Funeral Home, Columbus, MS. A funeral service was Saturday, November 30, 2013, at 11:00 AM in the Lowndes Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Wally Armstrong officiating. Interment was in Friendship Cemetery, Columbus, MS with Lowndes Funeral Home directing. Mrs. Mathis was born March 17, 1935, to the late Donald Robert and Nellie Murkerson Harrell in Grady County, GA and moved to Columbus, MS in 1971 from Oklahoma City, OK. She was a member of Tabernacle United Methodist Church, Ethelsville, AL where she was a board member, Sunday school teacher and superintendent. Mrs. Mathis sold Avon products for 32 years and retired from Columbus Light and Water in 2006 as Customer Service Supervisor after 28 years. She was an awesome cook and cut recipes out of magazines and made her own cookbook. Mrs. Mathis enjoyed raising her kids and grandkids and playing computer solitaire. In addition to her parents, Mrs. Mathis was preceded in death by her husband, Thomas N. Mathis, Sr.; and her son, Thomas N. Mathis, Jr. Mrs. Mathis is survived by her daughters, Teresa Barksdale, Ethelsville, AL and Dona (Mike) Nowland, Columbus, MS; sons, Stanley Nolan (Tricia) Mathis, Columbus, MS, Jeffery Alan (Mary) Mathis, Baldwyn, MS and Kevin Lamar (Mona) Mathis, Alexander City, AL; brothers, Robert Lamar (Annette) Harrell Cairo, GA and Earl Raymond (Florence) Harrell, Cairo, GA; grandchildren, Thomas Brooks Mathis, Brynn Mathis Putnam, James S. (Misty) Barksdale, Brett Barksdale, Jeffery (Katy) Mathis, Gina (Joe) Mathis, Kayleigh (James) Barksdale and Danielle Nowland; and great-grandchildren, Abby Putnam, Jaiden Putnam, Branley Putnam and Natalea Grace Barksdale. Pallbearers were Jeffery Mathis, James Barksdale, Brett Barksdale, Tim Harrell, Virgil Beatty and Kirt Sykes. Honorary pallbearers were Bo Harrell, Rick Harrell and Former and current employees of Columbus Light and Water. Memorials may be made to American Heart Association, P O Box 16808, Jackson, MS 39236 or Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, 1907 Dunbarton Drive, Suite C, Jackson, MS 39216.

Appeared in The Commercial Dispatch on December 1, 2013