Betty Jean (Guy) Cohen

     Betty Jean Guy Cohen was born on July 20, 1949 at the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital in Tuskegee, Alabama to Frank and Thelma Guy of Montgomery, Alabama. At the time, her father was serving in the Army Air Force. Betty is a twin, arriving three minutes after her sister, Barbara Jean Guy. The two are fraternal twins and were the first children born to their parents.

     As her father continued his service in the Air Force, Betty traveled with her family to San Antonio, Texas; Taipei, Taiwan—where she learned to read and write in Chinese; and Fort Walton Beach, Florida. It was in Florida that she met and married Tyrone Cohen. Later, Betty and her daughters reunited with her parents in Wichita, Kansas, before all moving together to Dover, Delaware in 1970.

     In Dover, Betty worked for the State of Delaware as an administrative clerk, she worked with Attorney William C. Poole and later for a corporation that specialized in business incorporations in the State of Delaware. She also gave her time generously as a volunteer with Head Start and the Foster Grandparents Program. Betty was baptized and became a member of Mt. Zion AME Church, Dover, Delaware in September 2011.

     Betty stood 5’3”, while her twin Barbara measured 5’6”. Betty was short. For a while, the family couldn’t quite figure out how that happened. Everybody else in the immediate family were tall. Eventually, the mystery was solved: Betty was the spitting image of her Aunt Anna in Connecticut, on the Guy side of the family.

     She carried many nicknames throughout her life—each one a reflection of her spirit: “The Youngest Twin,” “Little Frank,” “My “Sthista”,” “The Mayor of Dover,” “The Pit Bull,” “The Life of the Party,” “The Scrapper,” “Bets,” “The Social Butterfly,” and “CBS” (a nickname her father gave her because she always carried her video camera everywhere she went). Betty had a sharp mind and knew how to snap back when necessary.

     Betty was the true artist of the family, a gifted visual artist whose remarkable talent for drawing mirrored that of her father, Frank. She delighted in television—especially entertainment news, reality shows, dramas, soap operas, and movies. Known as a “social butterfly,” she earned the affectionate nickname “Mayor of Dover,” because everyone seemed to know Betty Cohen. As her father often said, “Betty never met a stranger.”

     Stylish, humorous, and full of life, Betty was a diva in the best sense of the word. She loved to dance and attend concerts in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C. She was instantly recognizable by her signature Cleopatra hairstyle and her sparkling laughter and smile, which lit up every room she entered. Betty was one of a kind!

     Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Thelma Guy, and her brother, Gregory Guy. She leaves to cherish her memory her daughters: Thelma Reece, Pauline Smith (Willie Johnson), Tywanda Rosario, and Anita Miller (Gerald Miller); her twin sister Barbara Guy, and sisters Myra Moorehead and Joyce Guy; 58 grandchildren and great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren who adored her dearly; and a host of nieces, nephews, and special friends too numerous to name—but all deeply loved by Betty.

     Her legacy of joy, artistry, and connection will live on in the hearts of all who knew her.

     A funeral service will be 10:30 A.M. Saturday, December 13, 2025 at Holy Trinity Church of the Living God, 425 W. Division Street, Dover, DE 19904 where there will be a viewing from 9:30 A.M. until 10:30 A.M. Saturday.  Burial will follow in Sharon Hills Memorial Park, Dover.  Online condolences may be made via www.pippinfuneralhome.com. 

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