Bettye M. Gray Corley Smith Carson

Funeral Services for Bettye Carson will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, March 21, 2011 at Bethel Baptist Church, Colfax, La. The Reverends James Carson, Carl Gulde and Robert Daniel will officiate. Burial will be at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 22, 2011 at Pinecrest Memorial Park (7401 Hwy. 5, North, Alexander, Ark. 72002) under the direction of Hixson Brothers, Pineville. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m., Sunday, March 20, 2011 at Hixson Brothers, Pineville, La., and Monday at Bethel Baptist Church from 9 a.m. until service time. Mrs. Carson died on Friday, March 18, 2011, at the Colfax Reunion Nursing and Rehabilitation Center after a lengthy illness. She was a native of Little Rock, Ark. and lived most of her adult life in Sulphur, La. She moved to Colfax, La. in 2005 with her husband Elton Carson. She earned a Batchelor of Science Degree in Accounting from McNeese State University in 1980. She worked for the State of Louisiana Department of Education as an auditor of school cafeterias. She was a member of Maplewood First Baptist Church nearly 30 years where she served as Sunday School teacher for first graders and was a member of the Sanctuary Choir, before moving to Colfax and joining Bethel Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by her parents, Gordon and May Gray, also by her husband, Guy Corley and son Bryan. She was also preceded in death by her second husband, Doug Smith. Survivors include her husband, Elton Carson, and step-son, Jay Carson of Dallas, Texas. Bettye is also survived by two sisters, Alice O'Neal (Forrest) of Rolla, Mo., and Frances Siebold of North Little Rock, Ark. Other survivors include three nieces; step-children, David Smith (Patty) of Shreveport, Kathryn Volk (Chris) of Issaquah, Wash., Nancy James (Jeff) of Shreveport, Karen Marshall (Cornell) of Westlake, La., and Brian Smith (Jennifer) of Lake Charles; 11 step-grandchildren and one step-great grandchild. Tom Carson, Leon Carson, Bob Campbell, Herschel Bryant and David Smith will serve as pallbearers. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Bethel Baptist Church Family Life Center debt retirement, c/o Bethel Baptist Church, 8789 Hwy. 8, Colfax, LA 71417.