Betty Jane Williams Fields, 99

Published 3:41 pm Monday, October 2, 2023

Betty Jane Williams Fields, 99, of Cumberland passed away peacefully Monday, October 2, 2023, at the Tri Cities Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. She was born on April 30, 1924 to the late Paul Jefferson and Leeta Blanche Marcum Williams. Betty was the oldest child and born in Norton, Virginia. She was around 5 years old when her family moved to Cumberland. She left high school her junior year and at the age of 16, married her sweetheart, Edward. They had four children. Betty was a stay at home mother until 1951, when she and Edward became the owners and operators of Fields Grain and Feed, a store that was started by her father-in-law years earlier. Years later, she decided to go back to school and finish her high school education. She graduated from Cumberland High School in 1959, the same year her oldest child, Lyna, would also graduate. She and Edward would run the grain and feed for almost 50 years before enjoying their retirement. Betty was a great cook and her award winning apple butter recipe was enjoyed and loved by many. She had a beautiful singing voice. She loved her family and was a huge John Wayne fan, as well as an avid UK basketball fan.
In addition to her parents, Betty is preceded in death by her husband, Edward Clinton Fields; a daughter Betsy Kay Fields Petty; and a grandson, Jay Deaton.
Betty leaves to cherish her memory her children, Lyna Jo Fields Cornett and husband, Roland; Mary Rose Fields Deaton; Paul Edward Fields and wife, Sue; a sister, Mary Lou Williams Yaden; grandchildren, Gene Cornett; Lara Koogler; Christie Henry; Shana Lewis; Matthew Fields; Ryan Fields; and Wendy Smith; 17 great-grandchildren and four great-great-grandchildren, a host of nieces, nephews, other family and friends.
Visitation will be at the Cumberland Missionary Baptist Church on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 from 1 to 3 PM, her funeral service will follow with the Reverend Gene Cornett and the Reverend Dennis Williams officiating. Interment will follow at the Huff cemetery in Cumberland with her grandsons and great-grandsons serving as pallbearers.
Tri City Funeral Home is honored to serve the family of Betty Fields.