Remembering Betty Jo Williamson McManaway

Betty Jo Williamson, c. 1947

Today my beautiful first cousin, Betty Jo Williamson McManaway, would have turned 71.  Like me, Betty Jo is the granddaughter of William B. and Martha Pierce Lane.  She's the daughter of M. Ruth Lane and Joe Williamson, the mother of Joy J. Goins Lewis and L. Joe Goins, and the grandmother of Megan Goins, Matthew Goins, and Olivia Johnson.

Born in Middlesboro, Kentucky, on January 13, 1942, Betty Jo spent most of her life in Bell County, Kentucky, and just over the mountain in Claiborne County, Tennessee.  Growing up, I always envied her gorgeous dark hair and lovely blue eyes.  It was always a joy to hear her laugh or to eat a meal that she cooked, and she was one of the hardest-working people I've known.  More than anything, though, I think Betty Jo loved being a mom to her two children and a grandmother to their children.  She died of a massive stroke on November 15, 2006, and is buried in the William B. Lane family plot in Middlesboro's Hurst Cemetery.

Betty Jo & Ruth Williamson
c. 1952

Betty Jo Williamson
c. 1960

Betty Jo W. McManaway & Joy Goins Lewis
2006