Betsy Dean Noblett

Betsy Dean Noblett
September 12, 1930 – January 2, 2024
Rest in Peace

Betsy Juanita Dean Noblett, 93, of Gastonia went to be with our Lord on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024, at CaroMont Regional Medical Center in Gastonia.

Betsy was born on Sept. 12, 1930, in Randleman, North Carolina, to the late John Arthur and Marjorie Mozelle Fields Dean.  

She spent her early years in Randleman where she was born and where she graduated from High School in 1948. She earned an A.A. degree at Brevard College in 1950, a B.A. from High Point College in 1952, an M.Ed. degree from Duke University in 1960, and an Ed.S. from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1978.

She wanted to impart her passion for education to others and went on to teach First Grade in Troy and later Winston-Salem in the early 1950s and then Second Grade in Randleman and Second, Third-Fourth, and Fifth Grades in Mooresville in the late 1950s and early 1960s.  She served as the Supervisor of Elementary Education in Gaston County for 25 years from 1962-1987 after which she retired.

She married William Henry Noblett, Jr. in 1971 and enjoyed many years of love and companionship with her husband Bill, who was taken from her too early in 1980.    

Her faith was front and center in her life as was her devotion to her family and friends. She was a faithful servant of our Lord Jesus Christ who contributed what she could to worthy causes and to the church. She was an active member of First Methodist Church in Randleman (St. Paul’s) for more than 30 years where she sang in the choir, assisted with Bible School, and directed the Methodist Youth Fellowship. On coming to Gastonia, she joined Myers Memorial United Methodist Church and was a member of the Builder’s Sunday school class and coordinated the nursery volunteers for three years.  

Betsy was a kind-hearted and thoughtful constant in the lives of her family members and friends. She was a source of strength and knowledge for her family especially.

She was an encyclopedia of family history and was so proud of her Dean family heritage and the family’s love for our Lord and its many gifts of music. She always shared wise counsel and sage advice with her family when asked.  

Her loving and steady spirit will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband William Henry Noblett, Jr.; her step-son, William Henry Noblett, III; her five siblings, Mary Hilma Dean Swaim (Frank), John Arthur Dean, Jr. (Reba), JoAnn Dean Earwood (Luther), James Franklin “Jimmy/Dizzy” Dean (Laura), and Paul Jerome “Jerry” Dean (Betty); her sisters-in-law, Betty Wilson Dean and Rebecca “Reba” Leigh Dean; and her nieces and nephews, James “Jay” Frank Swaim, Jr., Barbara “Bobbie” Kay Swaim Cotten (Andy), Frankie Dean Swaim Butler, and Caren Clarke Funderburk (Britt).

She is survived by her beloved “granddaughter” / grandniece Andrea “Annie” Jay Cotten Hoyle (Ken); her sisters-in-law, Laura Marie Dean (Jimmy) and Carolyn P. Noblett; her nieces and nephews, Charles Andrew Cotten (Bobbie), Betty Jo Swaim Funderburk (David), Sandra Dean Freeman, John Albert Dean (Susan), Kyle James William Dean (Christine), Kirsten Marie Dean, Paul Jerome Dean, Jr. (Mary), Lucinda Jorie Dean, and Jearl E. Noblett, Jr. (Janet); her grandnieces and grandnephews, Kimberley Butler Wood (Van), Paula Butler Pope (Tilghman), David Britton Funderburk, Jr. (Caren), Deana Young Funderburk, Susan Lindsay Waddle, Lisa Cox Best, Jason Dean Freeman, Catherine Freeman Gordon, Tyler Scott Dean (Katelynn), Ryan Christopher Dean, Sydney Rebecca Dean, Natalie Marie Dean, Paul Jerome Dean, III, Christina Elizabeth Johnson (Matthew), and Amelia Dean Jones (David); and step-grandsons, Vann Patrick Noblett (Patricia), and Robert Kipps Noblett (Deborah); and her great-grandnieces and great-grandnephews, Clark Kelly Wood, Patrick Tilghman Pope, Jr., Claude Harris Pope, Mary Myres Denning Pope, Lara Jo Funderburk, Winston Clarke Funderburk, Lena Freeman, Lucas Best (Sarah), Zoey Best (Brent Waffle), Paul Jerome “Rome” Dean, IV, Caroline Gordon, Grace Gordon, Ava Grace Dean, and Jaxton Scott Dean.  

A visitation at 12 p.m. and a service at 1 p.m. will be held on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, at the First Methodist Church in Randleman followed by a graveside burial at Randolph Memorial Park in Asheboro.

Services are entrusted to Pugh Funeral Home of Asheboro.