April 2, 1934 ~ June 7, 2026 (age 92)
Betty Jean Johnson Parrish, 92, of Pine Mountain, GA, passed in the loving presence of family after a long battle with dementia at Wellmore Memory Care Center in Daniel Island, SC. She was born in Camp Hill, Tallapoosa County, AL on April 2, 1934, to the Late Thomas Enoch Johnson and Mary Lou Phillipps Johnson. She is preceded in death by the love of her life, and husband of 66 years, Maxie Lawrence (Larry) Parrish, and her siblings, Ethel Baker, O’Neil Johnson, Paul Johnson, Sherman Johnson, Kate Walters, Phillip Johnson, and Ruth Johnson.
She is survived by her daughter, LaBet Parrish Perry and Son-in-Law, Thomas Dudley Perry of Summerville, SC, and her grandchildren, Matthew Thomas Perry, his wife, Kelly Luciano Perry, of South Carolina, and granddaughter SaraBeth Perry Douglas, her husband Richard Blake Douglas, and her great-grandchildren, Richard Mason Douglas, Maddox Rucker Douglas, and AmeliaRae Louise Douglas of Pine Mountain, Georgia.
Betty attended school in Valley, AL, where she was a member of the girls softball team along with her sister Ruth. After graduation she worked in the Mills in Valley, AL and was a Church secretary. She later graduated from business school. After marrying and moving to the Atlanta area, she worked as an administrative assistant for then start-up, Eastern Airlines, and was honored to participate in an inaugural flight of the airline.
Larry and Betty then settled in Jonesboro, Georgia, where she worked for many years in the Clayton County Education system as school secretary for Suder Elementary, and later in the Administrative Department for Clayton County Schools.
Betty and Larry enjoyed many activities, square dancing, traveling overseas to Vienna, Austria where they attended the Vienna Opera Ball, Switzerland, and deep sea fishing trips to Hawaii. After retirement, they took a cross country trip in their Winnebago with their beloved dog, Sonny, before moving and building their new home back near their roots in Pine Mountain, GA.
Betty had a wonderful smile and never met a stranger, she loved being a part of the community in Pine Mountain, and always enjoyed introducing anyone she could to her family that she valued so much. She also loved her Church family at First United Methodist Church of Pine Mountain, participating in many activities, and as an active member of the Louise Miller Circle, United Methodist Women. Even with her dementia, one of her favorite things was reading the Church bulletins that were mailed to her, and seeing the names of friends she loved and the activities that were going on. She was famous for her beloved banana pudding, her bright color coordinated outfits,
love of University Alabama football, earning her the nickname Bama Betty from her family. She loved her family dearly and was a wonderful mother and GeGe to her grand and great-grand children. She will be missed dearly but we take peace in knowing she has been made whole again and has been reunited with the love of her life, Larry, her brothers and sisters, and her best friend LaMerle.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, June 22, 2026, at the Johnson Brown Service Funeral Home Chapel in Valley, Alabama.
Visitation with the family will begin at 1:30, followed by a service at the Chapel at 2:30 with Reverend Andy Cunningham officiating.
Interment will follow at the Shawmut Cemetery. Everyone is encouraged to feel free to dress in Alabama colors, or colorful outfits in her honor.
Please visit Betty’s Memorial Tribute page at www.johnsonbrownservicefh.com to leave a kind word for her family, to share a memory of Betty, or to light a Remembrance Candle in her memory.
Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home of Valley directing.
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