Betty Rhodes Reese

Mrs. Betty Rhodes Reese, 91 of S. Jefferson St., Washington, Ga. entered into rest on Friday, July 30, 2021, at her residence.

Funeral services will be held on Sunday, August 1, 2021, at 3pm at First Baptist Church. Interment will follow at Resthaven Cemetery. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service in the church sanctuary.

Mrs. Reese, daughter of the late Albert and Lunelle Beard Rhodes, was born on August 26, 1929, in the Beulah Community. She grew up there and joined Beulah Baptist Church at an early age.  She attended school in Tignall, where she lettered in basketball, sang in the quartet, and later graduated from Tignall High School.  A few years later, she married Charles Walton Reese on May 20, 1950. Shortly thereafter, Charles began a career with the FBI, and they moved to Washington, DC. It was not long before they moved back to Washington, Ga. and made their home.

When her children were younger, she was a stay at home mother. Through the years following, she was employed by Almar Manufacturing and later owned Smokehouse Restaurant and The Reese House, the catering business for which she was well known. Her homemade yeast rolls were a household name in the area and were always in high demand. She was always very active in various organizations in the community. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.  She catered all of the Lions Club meetings for both Washington and Lincolnton for many years. She was a devoted member of First Baptist Church, involved in the WMU and the Frances Wheeless Sunday School Class, served as Church Hostess where she helped prepare the Wednesday night meals.

Her "library" of over 300 cookbooks in her home is a testament to her love for cooking.

Her husband, Charles Walton Reese, and siblings, John Thomas "Bubba" Rhodes, Sarah Frances Henderson, Robert Sanders "Bo" Rhodes, Albert Stephens "Dunnie" Rhodes, and Mary Patricia "Pat" Mack preceded her in death.

She is survived by her siblings, Barbara Ann Oakley, Charles Edward Rhodes (Edna), William Joseph Rhodes; her son, Michael William Reese (Pam), her daughter, Cindy Reese Bitting (Staten), her grandchildren, Michael William Reese, Jr. (Brittany), Robert Johnstone Reese (Paige), Mary Elizabeth "Libby" Watkins (Thomas), Neil Staten Bitting, III, and Joseph Desmond Reese; and her great-grandchildren, Michael William Reese, III, Charles Walter Reese, and Thomas Joseph Watkins, III.

Special thanks to the loving caregivers, Polly Lewis, Betty Hulin, Evelyn Smith, and Martha Huff.

Pallbearers will be Charles Creighton Henderson, John Thomas Mack, Randall William Rhodes, William Jasper Johnson, Randy Gatlin, Robert Sanders Rhodes, Jr., Derrick Stephens Rhodes, Jeffrey Todd Tyler, and Gregory Dodd Tyler.  Honorary Pallbearers will be William Johnson Hopkins, Charles Eugene Pollock, Jr., Edward Barnett Pope, Jr., Ernest Emory Rowland, William Cleveland Bentley, Charles Douglas Rhodes, James Caddell, Richard Olen Gammon, Thomas Daniel Beard, Jr., Gary Allen Hopkins, and Michael Gordon Sherrer.

Preferences for memorials would be donations to Beulah Baptist Church, Tignall Baptist Church, or First Baptist Church of Washington, Ga.

Beggs Funeral Home, 200 May Ave., Lincolnton is honored to serve the family of Mrs. Betty Rhodes Reese.