during the garden party-themed celebration of her birthday and the 10th anniversary of her business Friday at Bridgeport Recreation.
With two cakes, two banners and a room full of color, Bote celebrated her 86th birthday and the
10th anniversary of her business, Plant Service By Lois Jean, during a garden party-themed celebration Friday in the Outer Banks Room at Bridgeport Recreation.
Before Bote arrived, her daughter, TerriLynn Phillips, of Atlanta, was busy decorating the room with the help of Bote’s longtime friends, Bernadette Lawrence, of Maryland, and Pat Bailey, of South Carolina.
Colorful balloons tied to potted plants graced the tops of 10 tables draped with orange, pink, green, yellow, blue and purple tablecloths.
Phillips was both excited to be surrounded by her mother’s friends and to celebrate her mother’s accomplishments.
“Her friends love her — it’s amazing,” she said. “Her friends show up for her. Bernadette and Pat are household names — they can’t do anything I don’t hear about.”
Lawrence’s relationship with Bote is “All about love.”
“We know each other through work, play and worship,” Lawrence said. “She is like my family.”
Bailey, who has known Bote for nearly 15 years, said she flew in on April 15 to support her best friend’s accomplishment.
“She’s been my best friend and my ride or die,” Bailey said. “I just love Lois. I was supposed to be at a chorus recital, but I just had to be here.”
Phillips is proud of her mother’s accomplishment of reaching a 10-year milestone in business. She said her mother has always loved plants, jokingly adding, “She’s took care of her plants better than she took care of me.
“I am my mother’s only child; it means the world to me to be able to do this for her,” Phillips said. “She has always been there for people. She is a dynamic, special person and she is generous beyond measure.”
Kathy Hensen, of the Village of Santa Domingo, and Luann Kuder, of the Village of Pine Hills, each have known Bote for more than five years and have used her business for landscaping.
Kuder met Bote through the Florida Native Plant Society and said they both have a deep love for bright-colored plants.
“In my garden, I love that I can see the brightest, colorful flowers,” Kuder said. “That’s what I like; I like the chaos and colors. These plates say it all.”
Party guests enjoyed a feast of food on festive and vivid flower-themed plates. Catrina El-Amin, of the Village of Pennecamp, won the fascinator hat contest after receiving the most applause for her gold fascinator that matched her flowing skirt. Afterward, they danced to line-dancing classics such “Wobble,” “Electric Slide” and “Boots on the Ground.”
Phillips also tested how well everyone knew her mom by hosting a game called, “Trivia Lois.” Questions ranged from the personal to business, including “Where was she born? and “What was the first car she used when she started her business?”
Lois’ husband, James Bote, didn’t know her when she started her landscaping business, but he knew she drove a Lexus at the time. Michele Todd, of the Village of Silver Lake, knew Lois was from West Virginia, because they first met in the West Virginia Club, a resident lifestyle club in The Villages.
“She’s always so positive,” Todd said. “She’s so vibrant and has so much energy.”
Ellen Lewis, of the Village of Woodbury added, “She’s the sweetest person you’d ever get the chance to meet.”
Doris Sawyer was elated to celebrate her older sister by three years.
“We talk just about every other day on the phone,” she said. “We’ve always been close. I come to The Villages at least once a month during the summer to spend time with her.”
Sawyer, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said she was the one to tell Lois about The Villages after visiting her sister-in-law here.
“When I saw people dancing, I said, ‘Lois would love this because she loves to dance.’ I told her about it, she came to visit my sister-in-law and she’s been here ever since.”
At the end of the celebration, Lois, who keeps a busy schedule as a member of The African American Club of The Villages, the Bone Builders Club, Spicy Ladies, the Lake, Sumter, Marion Counties Section of the National Council of Negro Women Inc. and other groups in and around The Villages, said she was happy to see friends from different groups come together and couldn’t believe she was hosting the milestone celebration.
“I just thought that I would be planting a few plants or helping friends pick out their weeds,” Lois said. “It has grown and it keeps growing. Looking around the room, I’m also happy I brought so many different groups together. It’s my community. My family, friends and costumers, TAAC, the Bone Builders Club and more.”
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
