Resident Spotlight: Betty Anne Mayfield Let's Get On With It
Ms. Betty Anne Mayfield celebrates being fully vaccinated as February, 2021 begins. A resident of Decatur Christian Towers since 2011, she enjoys the social engagement this community offers during the last decade. Born in Augusta, Georgia during a time where pandemics and sickness were more prevalent, she has great appreciation for immunizations. Her mother lost her older brother due to malaria after suffering malaria while pregnant. Betty Anne contracted Polio at age two and upon healing had to learn to walk again. Left with a slight limp, she was the brunt of many jokes that made her tough. Her parents supported her and helped her navigate a need to defend herself and maintain dignity with the scars of this illness.
Her father’s work required her family to move frequently. She had a stint near the DCT Community at Druid Hills Middle School and then returned to Decatur to finish high school. She always felt like relationships were fleeting due to these frequent disruptions. These emotions captured her one time when dating a boy named, “Charles.” In their haste to make it last, the two made a plan to elope to South Carolina. They turned the car mid journey and never executed the plan. Soon, she was off to Georgia State and ended up meeting Bob Mayfield, her husband for 43 years before his passing. She has two daughters who still live close by with six grandchildren that she enjoys often. The pandemic has made things lonely for a time. Post Polio Syndrome affects her independence, but not her enthusiasm to get back to movies, restaurants and social events. She hopes to jump back in cars soon and get a ride with family and friends for a good bite to eat.