Betty Jo Barnes

Betty Jo (nee Hicks) Barnes was called home on October 28, 2019. Just hours after returning to family in her beloved NC (from a year spent with GA family) she slipped away in her sleep, passing from natural causes. Her heart was beyond full and she was happy to be home. Brought up in small-town Louisiana, the youngest of seven, she loved family, but wanted to make her way in the world. Fiercely independent, equally talented, and driven by a creative spirit, she left Homer, LA, to see what there was to see. Upon completing her undergraduate studies in music and voice at Louisiana Tech, Betty's first job took her to North Greenville Junior College in SC teaching the same. This started her career as an educator in SC and NC where she realized her own appreciation for life-long learning. Like many southern women of her generation, she was a faithful church-goer, avid gardener and matriarch. Alongside career, family, and homegrown tomatoes, Betty's true passion was music and the arts. She enthusiastically participated in the Wingate Baptist church choir as member, soloist and director and was a tour de force in the Union County Little Theatre, starring in "Annie Get Your Gun" and stealing the show as Ms. Hannigan in "Annie". After proudly bringing up two independent young men and teaching hundreds of children, she began a new chapter in her life. Never shying away from a road trip, she began traveling the east coast and beyond after the age of 60. Her courageous, adventurous spirit defined her life and got the attention of those around her. She eventually settled back in NC to be near her grandchildren and enjoy her retirement which heavily involved watching the national news and keeping others on their toes. " G-Betty" is survived by her son, David "Blake" Barnes, his wife Cress, and three independent-thinking grandsons, Simon, Owen and Henry Barnes who amused her to no end, all of Monroe, NC; her son John R. "Jack" Barnes and his wife Jill of Decatur, GA. Betty Jo is preceded in death by her parents, David Albert Hicks and Luna Harriet Lee Hicks, and her six siblings: Verdie Kathryn Hicks Anderson, Daymon Hicks, Derrel Hicks, Iline Hicks Shepard and Pauline Hicks Newsome (twins), and Annie Ruth Hicks Carroll. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Operation Smile https://secure.operationsmile.org/site/Donation2?df_id=5580&5580.donation=form1 or Union County Playmakers https://unioncountyplaymakers.org/supporters/ in Monroe, NC. Davis Funeral Service is honored to serve the Barnes family. An online guest register book is available to view and sign at www.davisfuneralservice.com/notices/Betty-Barnes

Betty Jo Barnes

November 11, 1932 - October 28, 2019