Betty Jane Daniel Hawes passed away in the morning on Monday July 27, 2026, at her home in Memphis, Tennessee, with her closest loved ones. She lived for 84 years. In late June 2026, Betty was briefly hospitalized with pneumonia. After receiving treatments, she was brought home and went into hospice care. In her final weeks, she was never in any pain, never had any medications and was still full of love and gratitude.

Betty was born on April 3, 1942, the eighth of nine children, to Johnnie Daniel Sr. and Betty Meadow Daniel in Lonoke, Arkansas. She called herself a country girl and told us many stories over the years of growing up on the farm. She attended Oak Grove Elementary, which started as a one room schoolhouse, taught by her own Mother and Aunt, whom she would later say inspired her to become a teacher herself. She received a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 1964, followed by some summers of graduate work at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville

Betty was introduced to her future husband James Hawes, Jr by his brother Malcom "Tack" Hawes and they would be married on May 17, 1970, in Memphis, TN. After being told they would not be able to have a baby, they welcomed James "Trois" Hawes III on April 12, 1971. She called him her miracle baby and said he was her greatest accomplishment. They brought him home to same Glenview home where she would take her last breath more that 55 years later.

She worked for 30 years in Arkansas, teaching Home Economics to high school students for the Marion District. During that time, she shaped an entire generation of students. Her proudest moment was when she was presented the 1983 Teacher of the Year Award for the Marion School District. Betty retired ten years later, in the Spring of 1993. Her sage advice to her students then was that "self respect and evaluation, honor, fairness, consistency, initiative and a sincere interest and acceptance of all people be demonstrated daily."

Betty was raised on very strong religious and moral beliefs, which followed her throughout her life, leading her to serve her community in various ways. She served as a Deaconess at New Salem Missionary Baptist where she helped with Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. She also later attended Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church.

In her retirement, she focused on her business, Betty's Hobby House and Boutique. There she was able to use her impeccable taste and style to help the women and homes of Memphis. She loved helping pair people with the right outfits to make them feel their best. She took great pride in her own home and her gardens. She stayed in touch with several students and was always there as a friend and surrogate mother when needed, throughout their lives. She helped, as a caregiver, to family members who needed her, supplying her with the empathy she would later display to those who would help care for her, in her final years.

Betty was forced to slow down in 2010 when she had a stroke that left her in a wheelchair, but did not diminish her spirit at all. She continued to do all that she could for herself and her family until she had a fall that broke her back and put her back into the hospital in 2022. It was then that she was told she had two different cancers present in her breast and lung. She completed the therapy she needed to return home to her son and his partner. While she was no longer mobile, Betty still thrived in her final four years. She continued to care for her family and friends with her honest and true way. She wrote hundreds of letters and continued to make plans for the next Christmas card.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband James Hawes, Jr, her parents, Johnnie and Betty Daniel, sisters; Tesora Johnson, Arzola Quinn, and Marzella Allen, brothers; Leroy, Monroe, Smith and Johnnie Daniel, Jr.

Betty is survived in death by her "One and Only Son," James Hawes III and his partner Victoria Lindsey Murrell. She also leaves behind sister Katheryn Coleman of Little Rock, AR, sister-in-law Hazel Hawes and husband Malcom "Tack" Hawes of Southaven, MS, sister-in-law Mary Hawes and husband Ray Hawes of St. Louis Park, MN. With nine siblings on either side of this family there are many nieces, nephews and cousins whose lives she touched and who will mourn her. She is mourned especially however by her niece and namesake Betty Hawes Guyton and her husband George Guyton of Collierville, TN and by nephew Matthew Robert Hawes and his wife Tracie Hawes of Las Vegas, NV. The number of students and close friends are too many to list, but you were all special to her until the end. And last she will be mourned by her oldest friend Dr. Finley Helm of Lexington, KY. Her correspondence with all of you is what kept her alive and thriving, she loved you all so much.