Betty Pilcher Morrell, 83, of Tifton passed away Friday, April 24, 2026, at her residence with her son by her side. A graveside service will be held at Noon, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, at Oakridge Cemetery with Rev. Trevor Ward officiating.
Mrs. Morrell was born August 16, 1942, in Chattahoochee County to Ivan Pershing Johnson and Louise Averette Johnson, both deceased. Her father was killed in action January 6, 1945, in France. Her mother married William E. Pilcher, in 1949. Mr. Pilcher was a 30-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force. She lived at various military postings in the United States and Europe. She graduated high school in Madrid, Spain and graduated in 1965 with a B.A, in Journalism from the University of South Carolina. She is a former newswire editor of the Tifton Gazette.
Betty was married to Robert F. Morrell, a newspaper executive, and lived in Tifton, Valdosta, Tampa, Florida and back to Valdosta over the course of 37 years. She assisted her husband in compiling and producing The Tifton Gazette's Centennial History book. After her husband's passing, Mrs. Morrell returned to Tifton to be closer to her parents and brothers and sister-in-law. Her love of Tifton was deep and lasting.
Betty was an avid reader and loyal patron of the Tifton-Tift County Public Library. She visited often to get new books to read or use the research materials when working on genealogy projects. In addition to reading and genealogy, her favorite pastimes were time spent at the family cabin at Lake Blackshear, family vacations in Mexico Beach, Florida and Jekyll Island, and watching UGA football and the Atlanta Braves.
She was a member of Tifton First Methodist Church and Club 55.
In addition to her parents and husband, she was preceded in death by her brother Bruce Pilcher of Tifton, two stepsons, Jeffrey of Columbia, South Carolina and Jimmy of Bartow County. She is survived by her son Rob, daughter-in-law Suzan and grandson Robert Joseph, all of Brunswick. She is also survived by two brothers and sister-in-laws, Randy and Sharon Pilcher of Ozark, Alabama and Herb and Darlene Pilcher of Young Harris. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews and one step-granddaughter, Allison Compton of Sumter, South Carolina.
The family would like to thank Hospice of Tift Area and Linda Gray and her team for Betty's care.
Condolences may be made on Bowen- Donaldson's online guestbook.
In lieu of flowers memorial gifts may be made to the Tifton-Tift County Public Library.