Betty Swain Horrell

Betty Grey Swain Horrell

 

Betty Grey Swain was born near Ivor in Southampton County, VA on June 20, 1923. She was the daughter of William Alfred Swain and Nancy Elizabeth Lucas Swain. Both of her parents were originally from Martin, NC and in their early 30s at the time of her birth. Her rural family consisted of 4 brothers Alfred, William, Milford and John Swain where she was the only daughter. As a young child she lived on a family farm known as Greenyard off Templeton Road near Carson. Around the age of 8 their family moved closer to town to the ‘Old Robertson Place’ east of Petersburg on County Drive. Here she attended the Rives school at the corner of present day Crater and Rives Road. She was a graduate of Prince George County Schools. After graduation she served in various capacities at Fort Lee during the early war years and later worked at Titmus Optical. Betty met her future husband Cecil while working at the soda fountain at the Peoples Drug Store on Sycamore Street in Petersburg. Cecil was originally from Rocky Mount, NC but had moved to the Petersburg area seeking employment. They traveled south for a destination wedding in Dillon, SC on August 18, 1942. She was 19 and Cecil was 22. Upon marriage they moved to Richmond where Cecil worked at the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. Their first child William known as Bill, was born on November 19, 1943.  In the late 1940s they moved to Brame Ave in Colonial Heights, Va. Here they were blessed with arrival of their second child, a son Stephen on November 4th, 1950. At this time Cecil began to work at Livesay Motor and Equipment while both boys attended Flora M. Hill elementary.  They moved their family to 210 Brame Ave in Colonial Heights across the street from her parents. When Bill was in High School and Steve was at the Junior High, Betty and Cecil were living on Lafayette Ave in Colonial Heights and were blessed with a third child, a girl whom they named Kelly Faith.  On Lafayette they were able to walk to Immanuel Baptist Church where they worshipped and were active for many years.  Betty spent many years as a dedicated home maker and mother raising her children.  In 1964 Betty and her family moved to their home of nearly 30 years on Franklin Ave in Colonial Heights. Life became busy as Bill joined the Chesterfield County Police and was married to Phyllis Garrett and later blessed Betty with her first three grandchildren.  During these years, Steve began to drag home sad looking vehicles and spend his evenings in the garage transforming them into amazing cars for resale. Kelly was involved in dance class and baton and Betty was always there to support her and cheer her on in the various competitions.  Betty formed many lasting friendships through the dance mom group, friendships that would endure for decades and provide sweet memories. Also during this time Betty kept her grandson Chad while Phyllis returned to work. In 1968, Cecil was diagnosed with the onset of Rheumatoid arthritis, possibly from what is now known as Lyme disease. His physical health deteriorated and he was forced to retire with a disability around 1974. In 1978 she saw Bill and his family move to Alabama for a new position with RF&P Railroad.  Despite his limits Cecil and Betty attended dance reviews, visited Bill in Alabama, and entertained out of town family. After her graduation from Colonial Heights High School, Betty, Cecil and Steve moved Kelly to Radford University with Cecil using the freight elevator to view his daughter’s room. At the age of 57 while hospitalized with a knee injury sustained from falling off a chair while washing the kitchen wall, Betty’s husband of 38 years passed suddenly from a heart attack. After the death of her husband Betty filled her days reading all genres of books, playing games and entertaining her grandchildren, spending time with friends (including a trip to Las Vegas) and cooking a Sunday dinner for her family. In the summer of 1983 she saw her daughter Kelly married to John Rainey. Over the next few years she was blessed with the birth of 2 more grandchildren, JP and Ana Rainey. When Kelly returned to work Betty spent her days lovingly caring for her grandchildren.  Betty moved her church membership to Swift Creek Baptist where she enjoyed fellowship and worship with many friends.  She enjoyed her Sunday school class and their weekly lunch dates.  During this time Steve moved to Alabama joining Gambills Auto Repairs. In 1990 Bill was married to Carol further expanding her family. Each summer Betty looked forward to traveling to Alabama see her children, grandchildren, accompanied by Kelly and her family. In the mid-1990s Betty was looking to downsize and sold her family home on Franklin Ave, settling at the Dunlop Village retirement community. In the late 1990s she overcame two bouts of Colon Cancer, drawing on her inner strength and faith based determination. After many years of peaceful living there was the onset of Dementia which required her to give up her favorite car, a fast Chevrolet Nova. During her time there she was content to fill her days with reading her Bible, the newspaper, doing cross word puzzles and visiting with family. After a long, valiant struggle with the disease she moved to Sunflower Garden in October of 2019 where she was cared for by loving staff and family visits.

Betty Grey Swain Horrell, 97, of Colonial Heights, VA passed away on the evening of Sunday, September 27, 2020.

She is survived by her son William ‘Bill’ Horrell and wife Carol of Pelham, Alabama, son Steven Horrell of Colonial Heights, VA and daughter Kelly Rainey and husband John of Colonial Heights, VA; grandchildren Tanya Wildman and husband Michael, Shane Horrell and wife Becky, Chad Horrell and wife Colleen, John P. Rainey III and wife Erica, Ana Mucherino and husband Patrick; 10 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.