Betty Jane "BJ" Godfrey

1927 - 2017

Betty Jane "BJ" Godfrey, 89, of Charlotte, NC, passed away Friday, the 17th of March 2017 at Novant Health Presbyterian Hospital. She was born the 5th of August 1927 in Greenwood, South Carolina, one of three children to the late Charles E. Godfrey, Sr. and Ella Mae Tribble Godfrey. BJ, as she was affectionately known, was a 1944 graduate of Spartanburg High School and a 1948 graduate of Winthrop College. She had a love for music and taught band in Allendale, SC and Jackson, GA before moving to Charlotte in 1952 where she taught instrumental music to 5th and 6th grade students in many schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System for 38 years. She was a proud member of Kappa Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma professional sorority and strong supporter and member of the string section of the Charlotte Symphony. She enjoyed spending weekends and the summers entertaining friends in her beloved home in Boone, NC, with her dogs, gardening and the great outdoors. BJ inherited her father's wit and talent for telling funny stories and loved to make people laugh. She was the matriarch of the Tribble side of the family for many years, a position she took seriously but with great humor. She is survived by Barbara Koesjan of Charlotte, NC and Charles E. Godfrey, Jr of Spartanburg, SC; two nieces, Susan Bennett Brady (Richard) of Kennesaw, GA; Jean Ann Bennett Farley (Rob) of Ft. Collins, CO and a nephew, David Charles Bennett (Hey-Yun) of Japan, several great nieces and nephews and many cousins. The Godfrey family will greet friends from 5:00 PM until 6:00 PM, Thursday, the 23rd of March 2017 at 458 Blairmore Dr., Charlotte, NC 28211 and 12:00 Noon, Saturday, the 25th of March 2017 at the family home 107 Beechwood Dr., Spartanburg, SC 29307. Funeral Service to follow at 2:00 PM at Floyds Greenlawn Chapel 2075 E. Main St., Spartanburg, SC 20937. Memorials may be made in memory of BJ Godfrey to the Godfrey-Koesjan Family Graduate Fellowship, University of Georgia Foundation, c/o Jennifer Messer, 285 S. Jackson St., Athens, GA 30602 or First Presbyterian Church TV Ministry, 200 W. Trade St., Charlotte, NC 28202. Notes of encouragement and condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.ellingtonfuneralservices.com. Serving the Godfrey family is Ellington Funeral Services, "The Historic Morehead St. Chapel", 727 E. Morehead St., Charlotte, NC 28202. Family owned since 1944.