Betty Timmons Mahaffey's Obituary
Betty Timmons Mahaffey of Quincy, Florida, passed away on June 8, 2020 in Tallahassee, Florida. She was the daughter of Edmund Lane and Lucile Bailey Timmons and was born at home on March 26, 1928, in Quincy, Florida. Betty attended public schools in Quincy and graduated from Gadsden County High School in 1946. She attended Florida State University where she was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha. Majoring in Elementary Education, she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1949 and began her teaching career in Marianna, Florida. She married Bascom Mahaffey in the summer of 1950, and they moved to Cochran, Georgia, where she continued teaching. In 1951, they established their household in Gadsden County and expanded their family with four children over seven years. She spent a few years raising her young children and then in 1959 accepted a temporary position at the Mount Pleasant School. She later continued her full-time teaching career at George Munroe Elementary School in Quincy until retiring early due to progressive vision problems which led to total blindness.
Betty was a long-time member of First Baptist Church, Quincy, where she taught Sunday School and Bible School. She loved spending time with her family. She found great joy in hearing from or about former students. She was known for her ability to talk to anyone about anything. A family joke was that she once talked to a wrong number for 30 minutes. In the last few years of her life she loved her Alexa which gave her voice control to call family and friends, operate her TV, and listen to audio books and news programs.
She was predeceased by her loving husband of 67 years (Bascom) in 2017; two sisters-in-law Betty Mahaffey and Elizabeth Cahill, and a brother-in-law Bill Yon.
She is survived by her sister: Bobby Timmons Yon, Tallahassee, FL; her children: Barbara Craig (Mike), Lutz, FL; Lane Mahaffey (Janice), Lutz, FL; Beth Frith (James), Black Mountain N.C.; and Lynn Skelton (Brad), Crescent City, FL; grandchildren: Allison Craig (Marshall Zealy), Rachel Hires (Matt), Sarah Benedict (Gary), Logan Mahaffey, Cliff Skelton, Erin Frith, Mary Frith, Bobby Frith, and Joseph Frith; great-grandchildren: Katie Benedict, Charlotte Zealy, and River Hires; brothers-in-law: John Mahaffey, Charlottesville, VA, and Ernest Mahaffey (Sheila Penrose), Chicago IL; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.
The family is thankful for the loving and compassionate care of her long time caregivers Mary Bunion, Elouise Lowe, and Laura Safford; the staff at St. Augustine Plantation; the nursing and medical staff at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital; and the nursing and medical staff at Big Bend Hospice Dozier House.
A private family graveside service is planned. Instead of flowers, the family suggests memorials to First Baptist Church of Quincy, Big Bend Hospice, or a charity of your choice.
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