Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Hurrell

After a long illness, Elizabeth Ann Hurrell died peacefully at home on November 24, 2025, surrounded by family members and her dedicated caregivers. Betty Ann was born February 12, 1935, in Troy, Alabama to Frances (Bassett) and Wyman Harris. As the first grandchild of both sets of grandparents, this tiny redhead was an exciting addition to the family and everyone’s favorite. Over time she was joined by five brothers and sisters and perfected her role as “big sister”. After her family moved to northern Florida, Betty Ann attended local schools in Cantonment, and graduated from J.M. Tate High School, where she met her future husband, Henry Hurrell.

As a young mother to two sons, Betty Ann was active in the Brentwood Methodist Church, Boy Scouts, and her sons’ school and sport activities. In the late 1960’s, she applied to work as the guidance department secretary at a local junior high school, a civil service position. She met all the requirements and passed the Civil Service exam but was denied the position due to a history of epilepsy. With medical agreement, Betty Ann decided it was important to challenge the Civil Service Commission in court. Her case was successful and set precedent for similar future cases. It was a hard-won and happy victory; she went on to work at the school for three decades.

Betty Ann was a talented quilter and in retirement designed and crafted beautiful quilts for family members. Another joy was carefully planned road trips with her husband, Henry, her sister, Patricia, and her brother-in-law, Larry. They racked up hundreds of miles exploring midwestern states, visiting family and tourist sites, and came home with lots of funny stories about their adventures. At the age of eighty, Betty Ann branched out to international travel and in four years, visited England, Switzerland, Germany, Holland, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Greece, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Oman and India. From Downton Abbey locales to Irish pubs to ancient ruins to the Pyramids to Biblical landmarks, these trips were magical and meaningful, and the source of great satisfaction.

Betty Ann is survived by her son, Robert and his wife Cathy; her son, Michael and his wife, Suzanne Lewis; her sister, Margaret Harris and brother-in-law Dwayne Barfell; her sister, Frances Harris; three grandchildren; eleven great-grandchildren; and seven nieces and nephews.

A memorial ceremony will be held on Sunday, December 7, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Bayview Fisher-Pou Chapel. The family will receive friends beginning at 12:30 PM until the start of the service. Pallbearers for her service will be: Jason Hurrell, David Hurrell, James Harris, David Sontheimer, Bill Varis and James Cosson.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations are made to https://www.loavesandfishessoupkitchen.org/ or Gentiva Hospice in Pensacola, FL in Betty Ann’s name.