Bessie Cotton Morton

Mrs. Bessie Morton, 87, passed from this life into her heavenly home on April 27, 2013 at Louisville Healthcare Nursing Home in Louisville, MS after a long battle with dementia.

Bessie Mae Cotton Morton was born June 25, 1924 at the home of her parents, Joe and Addie Rogers Cotton in the Macedonia community outside Shuqualak, MS. She was a lifelong member of Macedonia United Methodist Church where she was baptized Oct 13, 1935.
Mrs. Morton attended Salem School, Macon from 1st through 8th grades. She left home at an early age after a country upbringing working hard - cooking, sewing, gardening, quilting, canning/freezing vegetables, hunting, fishing, animal care and field work.

At 16, Bessie took the Sumter Logging Company train that ran from Macedonia to Enterprise, MS where she continued on to Mobile AL. Cutting off her hair and disguised as a man, she got a welding job at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, MS working on the first Naval ship to be built there. After being found out, she and a group of friends went to Grand Prairie, TX to work for North American Aviation building P-51s that were later flown by such famous aviators as Chuck Yeager and also the Famed Red Tails of the Tuskegee Airmen. She was one of the original “Rosie the Riveters”. Soon after WWII ended, like many of her friends, Bessie got a job driving a semi-truck while living in Houston, TX.
Bessie moved back to Noxubee County in the early 1950s. Soon after coming home, she met George Morton, who was to be the love of her life. They were married in 1954 and were together for 17 years before George passed away in April 1972. During those years, George and Bessie raised his 3 granddaughters until they were teenagers. Though never having children of her own, she was born to be a mother and relished the role. She also raised or helped raise numerous nephews, nieces, stray or injured dogs, cats, horses, cows and even orphaned white-tailed deer.
For many years, Bessie was an elected Justice of the Peace working closely with the Noxubee County Sheriff’s Department and the MS Highway Safety Patrol. She also drove a school bus for Noxubee county schools for many years where she was a stern but loving advocate for children of all races. An expert markswoman and lifelong hunter, she was a founding member of Macedonia Hunting Club.
Bessie had a lifelong love of needle crafts and gardening. Bessie could knit, embroider, crochet and quilt, along with making clothes for adults, children, dolls and teddy bears. In fact, a modest estimate is that she pieced over 600 quilts in her life. All were given as gifts. She was a competitive gardener who prided herself on having the first Irish potatoes or reddest tomatoes or the leafiest greens. She was also a self-taught musician who could play the piano, guitar, organ and banjo. Bessie loved to tell stories of her youth where on weekends, friends and neighbors would gather and play instruments and sing sometimes for days non-stop. In later years she loved to listen to Boxcar Willie and Kitty Wells or watch Porter Wagner or Marshall Dillon on TV. She loved God, her family, her animals, her friends, her quilts and her land. She hated laziness, liars, people who put on airs and people who were mean to animals.
Bessie was preceded in death by her parents, Joe and Addie Cotton; her husband, George T. Morton; her sisters, Mattie Deforest, Thelma Bland and Mable Reed; her brothers, George Cotton, Charlie Maxey, Bilbo Cotton and Joe (Red) Cotton Jr.; her step-children, Charles Morton, Norma Jeane Morton and Joe Morton; and her grandson, Glen David Arrowood.

She is survived by her step-daughter, Mary Sue Arrowood (David) of Huffman, TX; her grandchildren, Kathy Roberts of Bedias, TX; Lillian Latham and husband Jim of Philadelphia, MS; Billye Norine of Ft. Smith AR; George Morton (Pam) of Fayetteville, NC; Charles Morton of Metairie, LA; James Morton (Vickie) of Gulfport, MS; Shannon Reed of Spring, TX; Pam Logan (Burt) of Spring, TX; and Bobby Joe Morton of Dallas, TX. Also survived by her nieces and nephews Reba Conn of Shuqualak; Audrey Keller (John) of Virginia Beach, VA; Pete Floore; Buddy Floore; Melvin Cotton of Shuqualak; Jeanie Ming (Shelby) of Pensacola, FL; Wesley Cotton (Carol) of Shuqualak; Her great-grandchildren Melissa Thompson of Allen, TX; Shelly Schupbach (Todd) of Flint, MI, Michael Caffrey (Tricia) of Bay City, MI; Travis Roberts (Angie) of Norfolk, VA; Frankie Rodriguez (Amanda) of Dallas, TX; Sasha Latham, Yvette Cox (James), Jesse Norine, Michael Rodriguez (Nicki), and Kayle Rodriguez, all of Houston, TX; David Morton, Michael Morton and 8 more great-grandchildren; her cousins Earline Howard and husband Harvey (Buster) of Shuqualak, Karen Fortner, Dawn Hill, Christy Ferguson and husband Jerry, Logan Hill, Lee Fortner, Eli Hill, Beth Fortner, Nicole Ferguson, Leah Ferguson and Eula Mae Bauer. She leaves 20 great-great-grandchildren; 12 great-nieces and nephews; and 12 great-great nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be Friday evening, May 3, 2013 from 6-8pm at Cockrell Funeral Home. Memorial service will be held Saturday, May 4 2pm, at Macedonia United Methodist Church with Bro. Gerald Butler officiating. Interment will be beside her beloved husband George at Macedonia Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Frankie Rodriguez, Travis Roberts, Joey Cotton, Chris Cotton, Jim Latham and Jerry Ferguson. Honorary pallbearers are Sheriff Terry Grassaree and the Noxubee County Sheriff’s Dept.

The family would like to thank Dr. Glen Peters, Tiffany Jordan, Whitney Houston and the staff at Louisville Healthcare Nursing Home for their excellent care during her last 5 years. Any memorial contributions in Bessie’s name should be made to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals or Golden Triangle Horse Rescue in West Point.