Bette Wharton Honeycutt

Bette Wharton Honeycutt

Bette Wharton Honeycutt, age 96, passed away peacefully Wednesday evening, October 1, 2025, at Terra Bella Assisted Living in Harrisburg, North Carolina  She was born June 16, 1929, in Summerville, South Carolina, ,and was the daughter of the late Ada and John Wharton.

Bette was an early pioneer in women’s careers. After attending the College of Charleston, Bette left Charleston for her first job in Florida where she worked with the union to raise the wages of the National Shirt Factory employees, successfully bringing wages from $0.50 per hour to $1.00 per hour.  Bette was very proud of helping workers, especially women, achieve this.  This brought her great personal satisfaction.  

This life changing job sharpened her organizational and creative skills, eventually bringing her to Charlotte, to her next fulfilling job at Queens College where she served for a decade as secretary to the President.  While working at Queens College, she became very involved with Toastmasters International and remained a member for many years.  Bette’s passion for reading also led her to join an informal book club at Queens, active for several decades.  She also brought her spirited personality to Charlotte’s Little Theatre, participating in several plays. 

Her last job and one of her most “fun” jobs was working with Southern Shows, the company that stages The Southern Living Christmas Show every year.  After retirement, she and her late husband Ray traveled to see friends, family and experience new places. 

Bette and Ray loved their church, Park Road Baptist in Charlotte, NC, and their church family  loved them. Actively involved for many years, Bette was president of the church’s VSP (Very Special People). She was also a member of the Abundant Grace Connection Group Sunday School. 

Bette loved people and she loved to entertain whether it was church members, neighbors, friends and family. Married for 44 years, Bette and Ray were known for their excellent food and fun games with lively fellowship. All were welcome in their home. Bette always said, “If you have shrimp in the freezer, you can always throw a party”.   Blessed with a vivacious and memorable personality, everyone who met Bette loved her. 

Bette’s proudest accomplishment was the extraordinary effort she put into creating a cohesive and loving family blending her and Ray’s children. The results are a testament to her courage, her love and her personal skills. Today, all five children and their families are good friends who enjoy each other’s company and see each other as family. For many years this big, blended family, siblings and grand/great grandchildren in tow spent holidays and vacations together. Even after Ray’s passing, the family still gathered for fun family functions. They even took Bette on adventures to places such as St Martin with trips to the Grand Canyon,  Charleston, and Arkansas.  

Mrs. Honeycutt was preceded in death by her adored husband, Ray Ezell Honeycutt (1920-2013) who she married in 1968. She is survived by her sister Millie and brother-in-law Bill Taylor. Her sister Dixie Riley preceded Bette in death in 2018. Bette is also survived by her amazingly  supportive and beautiful blended family including her two children, Ricki and son-in-law Don Hines  (China Grove, NC) and Scott Craig and daughter-in-law Anita (Bella Vista, AR) and Ray’s children, Patricia and son-in-law Dr Richard I Cantor(Dingman’s Ferry, PA);  Edith Deborah (Debbie) and son-in-law Michael Stairs (Charlotte NC); Conrad Honeycutt (deceased) and former daughter-in-law Lisa (Yardley, PA). Bette’s beautiful grandchildren include grandson Weston Craig and wife Amy Lynn (Virginia Beach, VA); granddaughter Jessica Craig MacAndrews  and  husband Erik (Houston, TX); Jayme Craig Kimball and husband John (Fayetteville, AR); Courtney Price Brown (Charlotte, NC); Matthew Price (Charlotte, NC).  Ray’s grandchildren include Adam Honeycutt (Yardley, PA); Michael Honeycutt and wife Megan (Yardley, PA); Rachel Stairs Smith and husband John (Kannapolis, NC); Richard Stairs and wife Patricia (Charlotte, NC); along with 10 great grandchildren. Beloved nieces and nephews include sister Millie’s children Cathy Hooks (Darrell) and Joe Taylor (deceased), along with sister Dixie’s children:  Stephen Riley (Jackie), David Riley (deceased), Terry Fowler (Kenny), Wendy Cook (Bill), Chuck Dorman and Cheri Chambers. 

Acknowledgements & Donations:

· Heartfelt thanks to everyone at Terra Bella for the excellent care she received there.  

· In lieu of flowers, please donate to Bette’s favorite charities:  Special Olympics (link) and Wounded Warriors (link) .

· You may also donate to Park Road Baptist Church in memory of Bette Wharton Honeycutt (link) *after clicking on “link”, click on “one-time”, select “Memorials” in Fund dropdown.  In the  Note option, write: Bette Honeycutt*

A Service to Celebrate her life will take place on Saturday, November 15, 2025  at 2:00PM at Park Road Baptist Church Sanctuary, 3900 Park Road, Charlotte, NC  28209

· Visitation will be after the memorial service in the Narthex with light refreshments

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Bette Wharton Honeycutt, please visit our floral store.