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In memory of
Betty Anne McKenzie
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Betty's obituary
Born in Florence County she was the daughter of the late Spurgeon McKenzie and Jennie Belle Floyd McKenzie. She was a member of New Town Free Will Baptist Church.
Surviving are two sisters, Dorothy (Byron) McFaddin of New Zion, and Joyce M. (Jesse) Hayes of Lake City, two brothers Pat (Peggy) McKenzie and Jerry (Sandra) McKenzie both of Lake City.
The family wishes to express their love and appreciation to Anne's caregivers Geraldine Ham and Rosa Goble who gave such love and show such patience with Anne during her time of need.
A Tribute to Betty Anne McKenzie – May 10, 2006 – By John Hayes
A person like Anne is a rare person, and actually a little difficult to describe. There are so many adjectives: Compassionate, Loving, Encouraging, Strong Willed, Determined……….all which describe a part of her, but none alone can fully describe her character. She was so many things to so many different people through the years. Many people have visited her in her hospital bed in her home, in her wheel chair and in the hospital: she had a constant stream of friends and neighbors coming through her home, all were welcome, and greeted with a big smile.
To many, Anne was a friend, always welcoming a visit, and never had something else to do or somewhere to go, but always just enough time to listen and talk for as long as anyone wished. And she truly hated to see you leave, she loved people, and most of all she loved her family.
To the outside world, Anne might seem like a poor soul, unfortunate and frail. Anyone who truly knew Anne knew that this was not the case, not even close. Anne was very strong, both physically and mentally. The physical part she proved in the almost 51 years she lived on this Earth. And she especially proved her strength in the last year and a half, since her mother passed away. In the past year alone, Anne had become a cancer survivor, beating rectal cancer and enduring all the complications and indignities that come with having that disease. She also had gracefully accepted having to have a feeding tube inserted as her body became too weak to push food to her stomach. And in the past 6 months, she had survived grand maul seizures and losing her ability to speak. Not once through any of this, did Anne complain or get discouraged, she kept fighting and surviving, something she had been taught how to do extremely well from her Mother and siblings.
Anne loved her friends and never forgot who visited, and if they brought her something, she could always tell you who brought her what, even many years later. She loved being surrounded by her family, whether it was rambunctious nephews and nieces jumping on her bed and playing in her wheel chair, or her brothers and sisters coming daily to check on her. She loved them all, and the time they spent with her. She loved us even when she was fussing with us……….oh yeah, many of you may not know it, but Anne could fuss with you just as good as anybody else, and hold her own too! Anne was not intimidated by anyone, and loved everyone. More than anything I can say about her………I think the fact that she LOVED so purely and so strongly, is the most important. She was so compassionate of people and even her pets. She was tenderhearted and sometimes songs, or something on TV or people praying or a pet getting sick, they touched her heart until it overflowed in tears. She had so much compassion for others; it touched everyone who knew her.
Anne never let her state of being, influence who she was. She was always encouraging, to her family and friends. She always had a smile for everyone, and it didn’t take much to make her laugh. Once you got her laughing you couldn’t do anything but laugh with her, it was truly contagious.
Anne was great company on any day. She kept her mother company for many years. She was very sharp minded and kept track of her Mom’s appointments and reminded her of them and many, many other things. She always knew what was going on around the house, what her brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews were doing and what was going on around her in the community. She always watched the news with her Mom and was well informed. I don’t think she ever forgot a birthday or anniversary concerning her family. She loved the holidays, especially as the nieces and nephews got older, because she always got to see them all on the holidays. She would never open a present before Christmas either, no matter how much Grandma tried to get her to. And again, she always knew who gave her what and could always tell you.
As Anne grew older, she would lose the use of her hands and arms and so on, things progressed to where she was in a bed fulltime. But I remember when she used to help shell beans, slowly but surely, after Grandma would pick them. I remember when she used to feed herself, it took her time, but she never gave up. She was always strong willed and determined to do WHAT she could and be helpful WHERE she could.
She lived a long life, beat all the odds, most people with Cerebral Palsy of the severity she had, die at young ages, in June she would have been 51 years old. Not many people can say they have more than a handful of true best friends, but she had a whole neighborhood. She never had a dispute with her family that left them not speaking, she loved them all, all the time, and they loved her. She was surrounded by her entire family her whole life, and she passed with her family by her side. She truly loved and knew that she was loved in return. She had a wonderful faith, and demonstrated it throughout her life. She had a strong Christian testimony, in that she loved God even through her most difficult and trying times. Many people may use many different words to describe her and her life, but I think one word describes her better than any I can think of. Many of you may not agree, but I think that just depends on your definition of the word. The one word I think describes Anne best and all the she had and that she accomplished from her wheelchair and bed is SUCCESSFUL!!
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john hayes.
