Catherine Anderton Jetton, 95, of Rome, Georgia, passed peacefully from this earth into the presence of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on August 28, 2026, surrounded by her family.
She was born January 8, 1931, in Bessemer, Alabama, a daughter of the Great Depression. Those lean years gave her the thrift, resolve, and quiet self-reliance that marked the whole of her long life.
Catherine married John Albert “Johnny” Jetton, and together they began a family in Alabama. In 1967, Johnny was killed in an explosion at work, leaving Catherine a young widow with two small daughters, Janice and Suzanne. What followed became the defining measure of her character. She did not ask for pity; she went to work. As an accountant for Piping & Equipment in Pelham, Alabama, she supported her household by her own hand, and she reared two daughters who both went on to attend the University of Alabama. Strength of that kind rarely announced. It is simply lived, one ordinary day at a time, for years on end — and Catherine lived it.
She remained a devoted fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide all her life, faithful to her husband’s alma mater long after he was gone.
To her grandchildren and great-grandchildren she was, and always will be, “Kaki.” She was an artist and an avid fan of Bob Ross, “The Joy of Painting” which she spent hours watching. She worked the New York Times crossword puzzle every single day. She loved golf and the Gulf Coast and old movies on TCM. She was perfectly content in her own company, brush in hand — and perfectly delighted in the company of her grandchildren, who were the great joy of her life.
Catherine was, above all, a reader. She bought books by the thousands over the course of her life, and when her shelves would hold no more, she carried her library with her on her Kindle. That love did not stop with her. She passed it to her daughter Suzanne, and to her granddaughter Claire — who carried it further than anyone might have guessed, opening an independent bookstore of her own in Rome. A woman who spends a lifetime reading, leaves behind more than books. Catherine left a bookstore.
Catherine was a faithful member of First Baptist Church of Rome, Georgia.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John Albert Jetton; by her daughter, Suzanne Jetton Wright; by her parents, Ollie Lee and Maggie Lou Watson Anderton; and by her siblings, Wayne Anderton, Doris Anderton Dyle, and Barbara Anderton Keith.
She is survived by her daughter, Janice Jetton Davis, and son-in-law, Andy Davis; her son-in-law, Paul Wright; and her sister, Gwen Anderton Aycock.
She is also survived by her grandchildren: Claire Davis McWhorter and her husband, Seth; Hunter Anderson Davis and his wife, Meg; Casey Wright Hinton and her husband, Dennis; and twins Abigail Wright and Anna Kate Wright, O.D.
She is further survived by her great-grandchildren: Rose Catherine McWhorter, Frances Ruth McWhorter, Suzanne Boone Hinton, and Elizabeth Josephine Hinton.
The family extends its heartfelt gratitude to Atrium Heyman Hospice Care and to Interim HealthCare for the compassion and dignity with which they cared for Catherine, and its special thanks to her caregivers, Karen Martin and Erin Huether, whose devotion to her will not be forgotten.
In lieu of flowers, Catherine would ask that donations in her honor be made to the First Baptist Church of Rome Foundation, Rome, Georgia.
Catherine will be interred at Valhalla Cemetery in Midfield, AL, beside her husband Johnny at a later date.
Henderson & Sons Funeral Home, South Chapel, is honored to serve the family of Catherine Anderton Jetton.
