Betty Cowley

Betty Henson Cowley, of Cary, North Carolina, passed away peacefully in her sleep on July 29, 2023. She was 86 years old and had been in rehab recovering from a fall and other medical complications. 

She was born in Smithville, Mississippi on October 30th, 1936 to her parents Lee Roy and Reba Henson. She was the first of five girls: Betty, Doris, Rebecca, Linda, and Louise. She married Sidney B. Cowley on April 22nd of 1956 and they celebrated their 67th anniversary this spring. They traveled all over the South with homes in Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. She graduated from Business School in Birmingham and worked in the school system until she retired in 2000. She was an upstanding woman, known for her quick wit, work ethic, delicious cooking, and love of a clean home. 

She is survived by her husband, Sidney Cowley, her two daughters, Melissa (Robert) Watkins and Melinda Cowley, her granddaughter, Ashley (Jacob) Watkins, her sisters Rebecca (Billy) Williams and Linda (Duane) Gosa, and many other dear friends and relatives. She was preceded by her parents Lee Roy and Reba Henson and her sisters Louise Massey and Doris Brasfield. 

A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 5, 2023 at Pearce Chapel Free Will Baptist Church.  Burial will follow in  the church cemetery.  Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until the service hour at the church.    

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to the missionary ministries of her nephew via https://www.imb.org/give/project/sunrise-people-team/ or great nephew via https://www.imb.org/give/project/the-hill-of-blessing-team/ , or the cemetery fund at Pearce Chapel Church via Pearce Chapel Cemetery C/O Patricia Horne 60158 Hadaway BTM Rd, Smithville, MS 38870. 

Thank you to all the wonderful staff at WakeMed Cary and Bella Rose Rehab who cared for her as well as all those who called, visited, and sent cards or other messages. She loved well and was well loved by so many. She will be dearly missed on this side of eternity, but is surely enjoying her home in heaven.