Betty Jo Williams

Toccoa, GA Betty Jo Hughes Williams, 85, of 1669 Harbert Valley Rd. passed away Saturday, April 7, 2012. Mrs. Williams was a member of Abernathy UMC and was a long time resident of Buncombe County having moved to Toccoa in the summer of 2011. She was a daughter of the late Andrew Cecil and Mary Martha Cannon Hughes and the wife of the late F. Ray Williams who died in February of 1994 and the late Aage Jensen who died in September of 2006. Mrs. Williams was also preceded in death by her brother, J.C. Hughes. She studied and received her training in Nursing in New York City where upon completion worked with Memorial Mission and St. Josephs Hospitals where she helped start the first Recovery Room in Asheville in 1950 and later retired from Brentwood Nursing Home. Surviving are her children, Nancy Stubbs (Don) of Summerfield, Larry Williams (Tammy) of Blountville, TN and Linda Bailey (George) of Toccoa, GA; grandchildren, Shawn Bailey (Rhonda), Michelle Bailey, Ashley Cheek (Jeffery), Justin Bailey (Brianna) and Traci Turner (Sam Stidham); great grandchildren, Kaytlin, Taylor and Hannah Bailey and one on the way, Jackson Pierce; sisters, Martha Smart of Asheville, Leila Reese of Hendersonville, Barbara Sams of Alexander and Emily Clark and Hollie Morris both of Asheville; brothers, Tommy Hughes and Theodore Hughes both of Asheville and George Hughes of Weaverville; several nieces and nephews. Funeral services will be held 3 PM Tuesday in the chapel of Anders-Rice Funeral Home with the Rev. Wes Austin officiating. Burial will be in Green Hills Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2 to 3 PM Tuesday at the funeral home. Memorials may be made to Abernathy UMC, Bear Closet #2, 1418 Patton Avenue, Asheville, NC 28806 or to CarePartners Hospice, P.O. Box 25338, Asheville, NC 28813.