BETTY JEAN P. CANTEY
NEW ZION - Betty Jean Parker Cantey, 89, of New Zion, and more recently of Charlotte, North Carolina, passed away suddenly but peacefully on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019, at Brookdale Carriage Club in Charlotte. On the morning of her death, her Bible was turned to Psalm 100. She has truly entered God's gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praises.
Mrs. Cantey was born on Feb. 4, 1930, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the fourth of six children to Mary Letticia Mouzon Parker and William Vance Parker.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband and love of her life, Shelby Gordon Cantey on Feb. 1, 1998. They were married on Oct. 19, 1948. Also preceding Mrs. Cantey in death were her daughter, Gayle Cantey King; brothers, William Vance Parker Jr., David B. Parker and Cecil M. Parker; and a sister, Mary Lois Parker Johnson.
Mrs. Cantey grew up in the Mouzon community of Williamsburg County and graduated from Williamsburg County schools. She was a proficient bookkeeper and worked beside her husband for more than 20 years at Palmetto Farm Supply in Manning, where her husband served as manager and an employee of Royster Fertilizer Co. She was active in the Oakdale community in Clarendon County and was a long-time member of Midway Evangelical Presbyterian Church, where she served as former church historian and elder until 2003 when she moved to Charlotte to be closer to family, following a stroke.
Survivors include her son, Dr. Larry Daniel Cantey (Pamela) of Charlotte; a sister, Frances Rose (James) of Newton, North Carolina; a son-in-law, Glenn King (Cecile) of Columbia; three grandchildren, Lisa Caldwell (Doug) of Denver, Colorado, Daniel Cantey (Drue) of Milan, Tennessee, and Stacey Howell (Adam) of Charlotte; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services celebrating Mrs. Cantey's life will be conducted at 11:30 a.m. on Monday at Midway Evangelical Presbyterian Church, 9600 Black River Road, New Zion, with Pastor Mike Lowder officiating. Burial will follow at the church cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Tim Baylor, Matt Evans, Sheldon Evans, Brian Harrington, Jerry Harrington and Irwin McIntosh.
Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. today at Stephens Funeral Home, 304 N. Church St., Manning.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Midway Evangelical Presbyterian Church Cemetery Fund, c/o Wendell Robinson, 1215 Evans Road, New Zion, SC 29111.
A second memorial service for Mrs. Cantey will be held at a later date at Brookdale Carriage Club in Charlotte.
Stephens Funeral Home & Crematory, 304 N. Church St., Manning, is in charge of arrangements, (803) 435-2179. www.stephensfuneralhome.org