Mrs. Betty Jean (Hatley) Bright

Betty Jean Hatley Bright was born on May 29, 1942 in Chatham County. She is the daughter of the late Regger Hatley and May Pearl Edwards.  She gained her heavenly wings on April 1, 2023. At the time of her homegoing, Betty was surrounded by her loving family and showered with prayer and love.

Betty attended and graduated from Horton High School in 1962. She married Jesse Bright on August 22, 1964.  Betty and Jesse were a loving team and were partners in life and marriage for 58 years. Born of this union was their only daughter, Nachael Bright. 

Betty loved and served Christ from an early age. As a young girl she worshipped the Lord in song with her father and sisters in their family’s singing group. She was a faithful and dedicated member of White Rock Baptist Church, and later joined Haw River Baptist Church. She was a devoted member of her Sunday School class, and she faithfully served in the Food Pantry Ministry until her health failed. She always had a smile and a word of encouragement to those she served.

Betty loved everyone! She was a firm believer that the young and old needed a word of encouragement and words of support. Betty’s words were always followed by actions that served as the glue that held family and friends together. She gave countless hours to helping others in her family and in the community. Betty loved people and shared her kind spirit with everyone with whom she came into contact. Her sincere adoration and love for friends and family was evident throughout her life.

She shared her wise counsel and her servant spirit with family, friends, and the community. She leaves a multi-generational legacy of people that have been impacted greatly by her love, service, and counsel.  She taught us to love and serve God and to love others through her devotion and humble spirit.  

Betty had a long career at the University of North Carolina Memorial Hospital where she exhibited a superior work ethic and where she shared her same spirit of love and compassion with co-workers and patients alike. She retired from the Radiology Oncology Department after 32 years of esteemed service.

One of Betty’s greatest joys was spending time with her family and friends, especially sharing laughs with her grandson, Devin. Her legacy will carry on forever reminding us to love and care for each other, reminding us that we too can choose to live lives in which we practice meaningful acts of love and service, like Christ modeled for us.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her sisters, Geraldine Couch and Irma Stroud.  

Betty leaves to cherish her memory her husband, Jesse Bright of Pittsboro, NC; one daughter, Nachael Bright (Joseph) of Tega Cay, SC; one grandson Devin Bright of Tega Cay, SC; one sister, Dorothy Poston of Pittsboro, NC; three sister-in-laws, Willene B. Page (Alvis), Matricia B. Smith, and Iris B. Bannerman (Bobby); four brother-in-laws, Clyde Bright, Jr (Janice), David E. Bright (Shelia), Johnell Bright (Marcia), and Alvin V. Bright; and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. 

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