Bettie Brister

1943 - 2025

Bettie Loyce Fulgham Brister passed away peacefully on August 19, 2025 in Austell, Georgia, at the age of 82.
Bettie was born at home in Starkville, Mississippi, on July 7, 1943, to Loyce Fulgham and Bessie Orean Nason. She grew up with the grit and resourcefulness of a child of the post–Great Depression South, skills she would carry throughout her life. In her twenties, she moved to Georgia to begin her family and would make Austell her lifelong home.
She earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Mississippi State University, then embarked on a 35-year career as a dedicated educator. Bettie began at Argyle Elementary, later taught at Austell Junior High, and spent most of her career at Garrett Middle School. Over the decades, she taught English, math, computer science, and just about every subject in between. She enjoyed taking students on memorable Close-Up trips to Washington, D.C., broadening their horizons beyond the classroom. Always "Ms. Brister" to the community, she had the joy of teaching multiple generations in the same families-earning herself a long list of "grand-students."
Bettie's life was rich with friendship and fellowship. She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star (Masonic Women) and sang in choral groups like Chrysalis with Austell First Baptist. Her faith was rooted in her years attending Austell First Baptist and Mt. Nebo United Methodist churches. She cherished her monthly lunches with retired teacher friends and kept her hands and mind busy crocheting, solving Sudoku puzzles, or listening to books on tape.
She found her deepest joy, though, in time spent with family. Whether it was annual trips to Florida with her grandchildren or with her sisters and brother-in-law, or holiday retreats to a peaceful lake in north Georgia, Bettie delighted in creating opportunities for her large and ever-growing family to gather and stay close. She was the matriarch, the bearer of family stories and traditions, and the one who could remind everyone what truly mattered.
Bettie was preceded in death by her parents and sisters, Martha Nell Holloway and Carliss Carnley (Ralph). She is survived by her children: Georgianna Brown (Michael), Brittany Reynolds (Gene), and Johnny Brister (Cher); sisters, Nicky Carnley (Ken) and Victoria Lail; grandchildren, Kaite Carrington (Matthew), Savannah (Randi) and Grace Brown, Sage, Addison, Jacob, and Josie Reynolds, and Sydney Brister; and great-grandchildren, Hatcher and Bennett Carrington.
Visitation will be held on Friday, August 22, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM, and again on Saturday, August 23, from 2:30 to 3:30 PM at Davis-Struempf Funeral Home, with a service to follow at 3:30 PM in Davis-Struempf Chapel with Rev. Joe Condra officiating.
The family will also receive friends at Welch Funeral Home in Starkville, MS on Sunday, August 24, at 1:00 PM with a funeral service to follow at 2:00 PM. Interment will occur at Double Springs Primitive Baptist Church Cemetery in Maben, MS.
You can leave the family a condolence at: www.welchfuneralhomes.com.