Bettie B. Bagnall

Bettie Blakely Bagnall passed away peacefully on January 25, 2024 at Cokesbury Village in Hockessin, DE. She was 100 years old.  She was born Bettie Mebane Blakely in 1923 in Charlotte, NC to Charles and Helen Blakely and had one sister, Nancy. She married William D. Roxlo in 1947 and they lived in Waynesboro, VA, Camden, SC and Wilmington, DE. She is survived by four children (Helen Roxlo Delp, James William Roxlo, Katherine Spencer Roxlo, Charles Blakely Roxlo) and three grandchildren (Amanda Delp, Thomas Roxlo and Eric Roxlo). She worked as a librarian, admin assistant and accountant at various places. Her proudest accomplishment was the raising of four successful children.

In 1972, she married George H. Cook. Together they started up and successfully ran GC Industries. She was majority owner, secretary and treasurer of the company.

Bettie married Lew Bagnall in 2002.   They spent 20 years together, mostly at Cokesbury, where they lived in a cottage, then an apartment in the big house, and later WillowBrooke Court.

Her interests included bridge, golf, gardening, accounting, tax preparation, the stock market and staying fit, healthy, and beautiful. She traveled many places in Europe, Asia, Australia and South America. She was a proud member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Colonial Dames. She researched her family genealogy and wrote 6 books detailing different family branches. She loved following the stock market and the ticker tape at the bottom of finance television shows as her stocks went up and down.

Like any successful southern dame, she excelled at cooking picnic foods and holiday meals. Her potato salad, Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing, and Christmas eggnog were highly acclaimed and will not be forgotten. She was famous for preparing big meals for holiday gatherings and could easily serve a dozen people in high style.

Religion and her faith in God were an important part of her life. She read the bible nightly.