Alice Gratton “Betty” Dawson

Alice Gratton “Betty” Dawson, 94, of Blythewood, passed away Tuesday, March 20, 2018.

Born on October 20, 1923, in DuBois, PA, she was a daughter of the late Samuel Henry and Alice Cook Gratton.

Betty was a leader of her times becoming a WAVE in the US Navy during WW II, stationed in Washington, DC. She attended Hunter College in NY and Oklahoma A&M. Betty then married her childhood sweetheart, Paul W. “Wiley” Dawson, Jr. and they moved south to raise a family. She always enjoyed the working life and continued to work until the age of 94. Betty retired from the Veterans Administration after 30 years, where she started out in the foreclosure department and then became a VA mortgage loan underwriter. After retirement, Betty helped her daughter start Midland Mortgage Corporation and she has worked there for the past 36 years until shortly before her passing. She loved gardening and the game of golf and was a member of the Columbia Country Club for over 50 years. Betty, a beautiful, stylish woman, who loved fashion, made style look effortless every day. Anyone that knew Betty, knew her quick wit and the knack of telling you exactly how she felt and whether it was good or bad she said it while making you laugh.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years. She is survived by her three children, Paul W. “Koot” Dawson III, Mary Beth Dawson Gillis (Joe), and Kathy Dawson Buckner (Jim); six grandchildren, Jeb Buckner (Ann), Jessica Dawson, Ali Corral (Mark), Dakota Dawson, Danny Buckner (Hannah), Elizabeth Buckner; and nine great-grandchildren.

The service for Betty will be held at 11:00 on Monday, March 26, at Elmwood Cemetery, 501 Elmwood Ave, Columbia, with the Rev. John Barr officiating. Shives Funeral Home, Trenholm Road Chapel, is assisting the family.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to American Heart Association, Midlands Chapter, 190 Knox Abbott Drive, Suite 301, Cayce, SC 29033 or to the charity of one’s choice.