DOROTHY MAE B. LADSON

Graveside services for Dorothy Mae Bethune Ladson will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hillside Memorial Park, Sumter, with the Rev. Dr. Mary F. Rhodes officiating.

Public viewing will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. today at Palmer Memorial Chapel, 304 S. Main St., Sumter.

Dorothy Mae Bethune Ladson, beloved wife of Frank Ladson, transitioned on Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020, at her residence in Sumter. Affectionately known as "Dot" or "Dottie," she was the fourth of six children born to the late Thelmer and Mattie Johnson Bethune. Dorothy was raised in both the Paxville and Sumter communities. She was a graduate of Lincoln High School Class of 1957, where she was an outstanding student. In her early childhood days, she began her Christian experience at Jehovah Missionary Baptist Church. After high school, she moved to New York. It was there that she met and married the love of her life, Frank Ladson, a Navy recruiter, and to this loving union their son Franklin was born. During her adult life, Dorothy was employed by various organizations which included Mays department store, New York, the Navy Exchange System, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Virginia Federal Corrections System and Clarendon School District 2. She enjoyed her life as a Navy military spouse as they traveled extensively, statewide and abroad. After their military career ended in 1985, they moved to Paxville, where she was a devoted member and usher at Friendship AME Church, Summerton.

Dorothy was very proud of her family's history in civil rights activities. Her father was instrumental in the desegregation movement of Clarendon County (Briggs v. Elliott), which led to the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. She enjoyed spending time on her father's farm, listening to music and spending time with her family and friends.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two siblings, Adrian Bethune Anderson and Walter Bethune.

Survivors include her devoted husband, Frank; her son, Franklin Delano Ladson and his wife, Sue, of Sumter; two grandchildren, Joshua Robert Ladson of Cape May, New Jersey, and Julia Danielle Ladson of Clemson; five siblings, John Henry (Brenda) Bethune, Willean Gray, Selena Bethune, Cleo (Brenda) Bethune. and Cynthia Bethune.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to CurePSP, 1216 Broadway, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10001 or online at psp.org/iwanttohelp/ways-to-give/.

Condolences may be made on her tribute page found at wwwpalmermemorialchapel.com.

Professional services rendered by Palmer Memorial Chapel.