Betty Lou Garrett Clinton

Betty Lou Garrett Clinton was born December 6, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio to the union of Reverend Walter J. Garrett and Annie Lee Garrett. She departed this life on May 11, 2018 at Hospice of the Valley, Surprise PCU following a lingering illness.

She confessed a hope in Christ at an early age and was baptized by her father, Reverend Walter J. Garrett, at the Second Calvary Baptist Church of Cleveland, Ohio.

She graduated from Garfield High School, Akron, Ohio in June, 1965.

She attended Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee, where she majored in History and Education, with a minor in French Language. She was a founding member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Fisk University.

On June 23, 1973 she married the love of her life, Donald Lavelle Clinton at the Friendship Baptist Church of Lorain, Ohio where her father and pastor, Rev. Walter J. Garrett, officiated her wedding.

This union was blessed with two beautiful children, Christopher Lavelle and Courtney Marie. The couple also raised and became legal guardian of Betty’s nephew, Roy Lee Fennell.

She was employed for many years at the Cleveland Public Library of Cleveland, Ohio. Following her marriage to Donald, the couple eventually relocated from Cleveland to Lorain, Ohio where Donald became employed by the Ford Motor Company and Betty resumed her library career at the Lorain Public Library, where she remained employed until her retirement in 2004.

She raised her family in the church along with strong religious values. She was an active member of Friendship Baptist Church of Lorain, serving under her father, Pastor Walter J. Garrett. She was a member of the Voices of Friendship Choir and the Missionary Society, where she was actively engaged in extensive outreach in the church community reaching the unsaved, as well as the less fortunate of the Lorain area.

She was an adult leader of a Girl Scout troop at Friendship Baptist Church and served as Girl Scout troop cookie chairperson for many years. She was an avid reader and her hobbies included traveling and vacationing. She particularly enjoyed vacationing in the warm climates of California, Florida and the southwestern states. She enjoyed word find puzzles in her spare time and cherished spending time with her grandchildren, Garrett and Ashley.

In later years, she united with the Cathedral of Praise Church of Lorain, and eventually, Christian Kingdom Church of Lorain.

Upon retirement, Betty and Donald pursued their dream of leaving the cold northeast and relocated to the warm climate of the southwest, settling in Phoenix, Arizona, where they have resided for the past 12 years.

Betty had a strong faith in God and was a bible scholar. She, along with her husband, Donald, were ordained ministers and elders of In His Presence Ministries, where they united upon coming to Arizona. She was known as a powerful intercessory prayer warrior and served as a spiritual advisor to numerous individuals. She strongly believed in the power of prayer and faith in God, as evidenced in her daily journal writings which she kept current up until her health began to fail. However, through it all, she remained faithful and trusted in God for her healing.

We bid farewell to a true woman of God!

She will be sadly missed by her husband of 45 years, Donald Lavelle Clinton; son, Christopher Lavelle (Patrice) Clinton (US Navy, Japan); daughter, Courtney Marie Bradford, Avondale, AZ; grandchildren, Garrett Isaiah, Ashley Marnell, and Christopher Lavelle, Jr. (C.J.); sisters, Stella (Gilbert) Francis, Janice (Stanley) Whitfield, both of Lorain, Ohio; sisters-in-law, Juanita Clinton of Anaheim, CA, Mary Ann Andrews, Cleveland, Ohio; brothers-in-law, Johnny (Mary) Clinton and Bobby Clinton, both of Cleveland, Ohio; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, relatives and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, Reverend Walter J. and Annie L. Garrett; stepmothers, Adaline Harmon Garrett and Lula Beatty Garrett; and mother-in-law, Mary Clinton.

A visitation will be held at 1:00 pm, with a funeral service to follow at 2:00 pm, Friday, May 18, 2018 at Thompson Funeral Chapel, 926 S. Litchfield Road, Goodyear, AZ. Burial will be at the Highland Park Cemetery in Cleveland, OH.