Bebe Fulton

Bebe C. Fulton, 86, died Monday, Sept. 2, 2013, at her home in Port Byron. She died of cancer before becoming fully incapacitated by Alzheimer's disease. In accordance with her wishes, there will be no visitation or services. She will be cremated and buried at Greenview Memorial Gardens in East Moline. Bebe was the daughter of Dewey Long and Lillian C. Meier. She was born July 26, 1927, at her father's hometown of Laurel Springs, N.C. Bebe was raised in Bettendorf. She grew up in a house built by her grandfather, Meier, located amid the pastures of what was once her great-grandfather Petersen's dairy farm. Bebe graduated from Davenport High School in 1945. She entered the Moline Public Hospital Nursing School under World War II's U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps program, graduating in 1948 as a registered nurse. She first worked for Dr. Morris Zuckerman in Rock Island and as a private-duty nurse. Bebe then enjoyed a 34-year career working with the Visiting Nurse Association of Rock Island County, retiring in 1994. In 1950, Bebe married Lawrence G. Fulton in Bettendorf, and they raised their two children in East Moline. Bebe was a kind and caring person. She had a lifelong passion for reading, especially murder mysteries. Her retirement years were spent enjoying "the country life" in rural Port Byron. There she loved spending time with her grandchildren, caring for her cats and dogs and feeding the birds and wildlife. Bebe is survived by her son, Corey (Debra) Fulton; her daughter, Stacy (Frederich) Bawden; grandchildren, Lawrence and America Bawden; brother, Richard (Phyllis) Long, Bettendorf; sister, Pamela (David) Leek, Mission, Texas; brother-in-law, Marvin Dey, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; and many nieces and nephews. Bebe was preceded in death by her parents, husband and brother, Duane Long.