AROUND TOWN: 'Betty was loved by everybody'; Chamber announces Public Safety Award Nominees

The community gathered to pay respects to a beloved educator Monday at the funeral services of Betty Gray, held at Trinity United Methodist Church in Mableton.

Gray's coffin, near the altar, was covered in a shower of bright yellow roses, as the audience sang "It Is Well With My Soul" and “Amazing Grace.” Among those in attendance were former Gov. Roy Barnes, former Congressman Buddy Darden, state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-west Cobb, CCSD Superintendent Chris Ragsdale, Cobb school board members David Banks, Tre Hutchins, Randy Scamihorn and Brad Wheeler, former board member Laura Searcy, former CCSD Acting Superintendent James Wilson and former Assistant Superintendent Ann Glendinning, CCSD Chief of Staff Kevin Daniel, and Betty Smitha Eubanks, whose late father W.O. Smitha hired Gray as an English teacher at South Cobb High School in 1957.

The Rev. Jeffery O’Neal, former pastor of Trinity, delivered the eulogy. O’Neal told the congregation they were gathered to celebrate Gray’s life, although he was not there necessarily to eulogize Gray, because she had done that already through the life that she lived.

“Our purpose here today is sort of a bittersweet occasion, because a person like Betty will be sorely missed,” O’Neal said. “It’s bitter because she was such a sweet woman, a nice woman, a good person. Betty was well liked by family, friends, peers, coworkers. She was a good woman to her daughter, Lisa. A good sister to Lanette, and my good friend.”

Gray’s daughter, Della-Lisa Gray, and her sister, Lanette Horton, sat on the front aisle, having received friends prior to the service. 

“She was an excellent employee and she was a very giving and compassionate person,” the pastor continued. “Betty had a positive impact on many lives. Many of us here can attest to that, as an educator and a leader in the community as well as in the church. Betty was quite honest and forthright.”

This line prompted chuckles from the crowd. Gray was famous for calling a spade a spade. Mincing words she did not. 

“I mean, if you rubbed her the wrong way, she’d let you know. If you asked her a question, she was going to tell you exactly how she felt, but above all of these things, Betty was a child of God and it showed in the life she lived. Betty loved the Lord. She loved the church," O’Neal said. 

Gray was active in the life and ministry of Trinity UMC. During the time he served as pastor, O’Neal said Gray was lay leader.

“And I often tell people even today that I could not have pastored this church without the help of Betty Gray. She was very supportive of me in my ministry and she helped me understand this particular congregation. Betty taught me how to love and pastor the people at Trinity and successfully navigate the challenges I faced as pastor."

O’Neal said the last time he saw Gray in the hospital, she probably didn't recognize him. Yet, “Even in an altered state of mind, she was carrying on a full conversation. It appeared to me she was having a parent-teacher conference. She was encouraging a young man, saying ‘It’s OK. You’re going to get better. That grade is going to come up.' She was telling the mother what the mother had to do in order to help the child and improve his grade. And I said to myself, ‘Wow! That is amazing.' Because that is who Betty was to the very core of her being. She was one who cared for people and was concerned for people’s welfare, wanted to see young people, and all the people, thrive and do well. She was very loving, and it was just so true to who she was.”

After the service, Around Town asked Barnes, member of the South Cobb High School Class of 1966, for his thoughts. 

“The point is that Betty was loved by everybody, and she was respected by everybody,” Barnes said. “The preacher had it right. If you did not want to know what Betty thought, don’t ask Betty, because she was going to tell you. And sometimes she told you when you really didn’t ask her.”

Barnes said if he did something wrong while in the legislature, Gray would ring him up and ask him why he voted the way he did.

“And of course we all supported Betty when she ran, because she taught everybody in Mableton and Austell. I mean, all she had to do is talk to her former students and that was a majority.”

Barnes remarked on how the Republican majority on the school board at the time chose Gray, the only Democrat, to lead them as board chair.

“They named her chair and she was loved, and that’s a good example of how Betty knew everybody and got along with everybody, and you see the school board here today, Republican members as well as Democratic members.”

Darden, a former Democratic congressman who represented Marietta, said Gray was a longtime friend and ally.

“We’ve always been great friends,” Darden said. “She always supported me when I ran for Congress and the state legislature. We were political friends and also personal friends. She always said, ‘You put the kids first and second and third. She was a staunch believer in public education and dedicated her whole life to it."

After the service, Gray was laid to rest at Union Campground Cemetery in Waco, Georgia, where her late husband, Harold Owen Gray, rests. 

RECOGNITION: As part of the 23rd annual Public Safety Appreciation Week (Oct. 2-8), the Cobb Chamber will honor Cobb County’s finest during a special recognition program at the Public Safety Appreciation Breakfast event held at the Coca-Cola Roxy on Oct. 3. The breakfast will kick off a weeklong effort to celebrate public safety personnel in Cobb County.

Preparations for such an event begins months in advance with the nomination process for the Public Safety Employee of the Year Award and other awards such as the Medal of Valor, Award of Merit, Distinguished Achievement Award and Outstanding Community Contribution Award. Residents, government officials, public safety agencies and business officials are given the opportunity to nominate public safety personnel for these honors. The 2022 Public Safety Appreciation Committee chairman is Randy Crider, director of Public Safety, Cobb County Department of Public Safety. The Cobb Chamber would like to congratulate the following personnel and public safety units on their nomination for a public safety recognition award:

Individuals

• Officer Adrian Barton, Kennesaw Police Department
• Capt. Tim Cameron, Marietta Fire Department
• Theresa Carcioppolo, Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications
• Acting Lt. CID Jason Holcombe, Powder Springs Police Department
• Paramedic Jessica Kapka, MetroAtlanta Ambulance Service
• Officer Makayla Mason, Marietta Police Department
• Officer Nicholas St. Onge, Marietta Police Department
• Officer Terry Parks, Cobb County School District Police
• Officer Tiffany Santos, Smyrna Police Department
• Cpl. Greg Stacy, Kennesaw State University Police Department
• Detective Zachary Stannard, Cobb County Police Department
• Deputy Diane Watts, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
• Officer Sarah Youngblood, Marietta Police Department

Public Safety Units

• Criminal Interdiction Unit, Kennesaw Police Department
• Day Shift B, Cobb County Department of Emergency Communications
• MFD TRT Team, Marietta Fire Department
• Officers Amelia Hines, Aaron Johnson, Matthew Abkemeier, Marietta Police Department
• Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) Unit, Cobb County Police Department
• Sgt. Heidi Bonito, Deputy Gregory Williams, Deputy Gregory Smimmo, CJS Marquis McNeil, Cobb County Sheriff’s Office
• Squad 7 & Rescue 23, Cobb County Fire and Emergency Services
• Unit 319, Puckett EMS
• Unit 337, Pucket EMS

Award winners will be announced and celebrated at the Oct. 3 Public Safety Appreciation Breakfast.