Vanessa Horton February 09, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers Sign Guestbook| View Guest Book Entries| Send Private Condolences| Send Sympathy Card Vanessa Louise Horton, 64, known to many as “Auntie Nessa”, was born September 8, 1954 in Detroit, MI. She departed this life on Saturday, February, 9 2019. Vanessa was the first born to the late David Welcome Sr. and Annie Ruth Welcome.
She was married to Dennis Betts and from that union, Nicole Danielle Betts was born July 20, 1976. Vanessa married Darrell Horton on June 23, 2001 and lived happily with her husband until the time of her departure. Vanessa was a ray of light to all she encountered.
In the midst of extreme adversity, she always had a kind word or joke to lighten someone else’s day. Her love of cinema resulted in a vast DVD collection filled with mysteries, Disney Classics, and classic love stories. Vanessa is known for many amazing things, but there are two that we can never forget.
She embraced us with her big bear hugs and fed our souls and stomach with her unapparelled cooking. Vanessa was the cook of family. She could win you over with her talent in the kitchen, for she put her heart in it.
She wrote, Nessa Lou’s Cookbook, which was full of her favorite recipes and those recipes quickly became our own. If you wanted to see the greatest smile, find her in the kitchen. At Mama’s special request for her 80th birthday, Vanessa baked a lemon pound cake from a wheel chair.
She’d go to unlimited measures to put a smile in your heart. She was a devout member of Calvary Baptist Church, in Haverhill, MA, where she was awarded Woman of the Year, 2012. She taught Sunday School and was a dedicated steward, helping to run the Calvary Food Pantry.
After relocating to Newport News, she assisted teaching Sunday School at Calvary Chapel and attended regularly, as her body permitted. Her battle with kidney disease only made her stronger. A woman of unwavering faith, she inspired many to live life to the fullest and open their hearts.
She was not judgmental, she was not vain, she was not selfish – she was simply a child of God who knew her purpose on this earth. That purpose was to help those in need. May we all be so lucky to find our purpose and share the love of God, as she did.
She will live fiercely in our memories as an inspiration and we will certainly rejoice the day we see her again. She was preceded in death by her brother, David Welcome, Jr. and niece, Phillicia Welcome. She leaves a Husband, Darrell Horton; her daughter, Nicole D. Betts; grandchildren, Isaiah DeShawn and Elijah Daylin; mother, Annie R. Welcome; siblings, Rochelle W. Graham, Darryl Welcome, Donna M. Welcome and husband Owen; nieces and nephews, Stephanie E. Graham, Christopher M. Graham and wife Farida, Danielle S. Welcome, and Cierra Welcome.
As well as an abundance of loving relatives and friends. A funeral service will be held 11 a.m., Saturday, February 16, 2019 at O. H. Smith & Son Funeral Home. Interment will follow in Greenlawn Memorial Park.
O. H. Smith & Son Funeral Home is honored to serve the family.
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