Betty Barrett

Betty Bruson Barrett passed away peacefully at her home in Montgomery on March 4, 2026, at the age of 97. She was born on January 30, 1929, in Tallassee, Alabama to Donald and Phoebe Brunson. Betty moved to Montgomery her senior year, graduating from Lanier High School in 1947. She attended the University of Alabama, where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. She later transferred to Huntingdon College, following the footsteps of her mother, a 1921 graduate of the Women's College of Alabama. Betty graduated in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She was a recipient of the Peabody Scholarship to Vanderbilt University, where she received her master's degree in education.

Betty married fellow Montgomerian, Sam Burge Barrett, in 1953, after his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point. From there, they embarked on an eventful twenty-seven-year Air Force experience. Betty was great support for her husband, spreading her southern charm and hospitality throughout nine overseas and stateside assignments. Upon Sam's retirement, they happily returned to Montgomery and spent their remaining years among beloved family and friends. They were lifelong members of First United Methodist Church. Betty was a wonderful, caring wife and mother, always putting her family above everything else.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Col. Sam Barrett, brother, Donald H. Brunson, Jr., and sister, Phoebe DeVaughn. She is survived by her children, Phoebe McCann (Mavin), Betsy Hails (Eddie), Lt. Gen (ret) Sam Barrett (Kelly); and nine grandchildren and fourteen great-grandchildren.

The family wishes to thank her wonderful caregivers LaTasha Williams, Mattie Crenshaw, Rosia Williams, Jenette Davis, and Kim Shannon for their many years of kindness, care and love provided to Sam and Betty.