Betty Jane Hailey

It is with the greatest of sadness to say my Mom, Betty Jane Hailey passed away February 23rd. She wanted no obituary, no fanfare or flowers, so this will have to suffice for all her friends.

From South High-Y Queen in Akron, to Ohio Bell Telephone’s (now AT&T) beautiful young model for their new telephone operators featured in a several page article in the Akron Beacon Journal, to wife of Tom Hailey (who discovered her on his paper route), she led quite the life until two months short of her 102nd birthday. She retained that beauty all her life, seemingly defying old age.

Moving from Ohio for Tom’s job, they came to Decatur, GA with me in tow in 1950. They loved to dance and went to Peachtree Gardens in Buckhead each Saturday night with friends for many years and golfed together as well. Married 72 years, they led a pretty wonderful life.

Betty was beautiful, gregarious, always smiling, threw elegant parties, was caring and uncommonly optimistic and positive all her life, right up to the last day. If you knew my Mom, you will imagine her last words to me were “don’t you need your bigger coat on today?” She never complained, never cried, always tried to watch out for everyone else. She was caretaker at 92 for my Dad when he had Alzheimer’s -the most incredibly strong woman I’ve ever known and made it through to live on for another 10 years, as her own boss. (Anyone who knew my Dad will attest he was the boss up til then!) She always called herself a “tough old bird”, and she was!

She is survived of course by me & Randy, her grandchildren and their families and many friends, to include her best friend Leslie & Jackie, who walked with her everyday the years in Stone Mountain, Linda who has been a wonderful companion and dear friend for several years, Richard, who has been understanding about me spending time with her away from my job, and so many of my and Randy’s friends and his family who loved her and have inquired about her for decades. To all of you who always asked about her, my heartfelt thanks. To all the girls of Arbor Terrace, I give a huge thanks for their care and love over the last few years as well as the crew at her newest home, Oakleaf Manor.

As she wished, no service will be held and her ashes will be strewn with Daddy’s at Canton GA National Cemetery’s scatter garden at a future date. Her name will be engraved to the back of his headstone – Tom & Betty together again. If inclined, please donate to Tunnel to Towers for her. We may have a celebration of her life at a later date since I think raising a toast to the best Mom in the world would be appropriate. I’m not sure I will know how to live without my best friend; it may be the hardest thing I have ever done as I have been blessed to have her for so long and simply figured I would have her forever. I am writing this with the heaviest heart.