Rheda LaVerne Deal Bettini

Rheda LaVerne Deal Bettini, age 86, of Conover, NC, passed away on Sunday, September 30, 2018 at Conover Nursing and Rehabilitation. Born January 6, 1932 in Catawba County, she was the daughter of the late John Quincy Deal and Nona Clyde Carpenter Deal.

Preceding her in death was daughter, Susan Locke; brothers, John Quincy Deal, Jr., and Clyde Deal; sisters, Annie Belle Green, Eva Hoke Hefner, Myrtle Epps, and Eunice Deal; and her beloved pet, Cosby.

Rheda is survived by daughters, Kathy Ray and husband, Jonathan of Conover, and Sheila Brake and husband, Barry of Clarksville, TN; grandchildren, Garrison Locke and wife, Amy, Daniel Locke and wife, Sarah, Colin Ray and fiancée Elizabeth; step-grandchildren, Dustin Brake and wife, Lindsay, and Barbara Jean Brake, great-grandchildren, Emory Locke, and Bennet Locke; step-great-grandchildren, Wyatt and Waylon Brake. Also surviving is sister in-law, Annie Rae Deal; numerous nieces and nephews, and beloved extended family of John Locke.

Rheda was a member of Trinity Baptist church in Newton, where she sang in the choir. She loved music and sang with the Hickory Choral Society, the Relative Quartet, and the Church Wagon Gang. Her dancing and singing skills led her to perform many musical productions at locations throughout the area including; The Green Room, Hickory Community Theater, Foothills, and Lenoir Rhyne. She was once deemed “The Dancing Grandma” in a Hickory Daily Record newspaper article.

The family would like to thank the staff at Conover Nursing and Rehabilitation, Catawba Valley Living at Rock Barn, and Caldwell Hospice for Rheda’s care.

The Service of Remembrance will be held at 2:00 pm on Wednesday October 3, 2018 at Trinity Baptist Church in Newton, with Pastor Brant Hoots officiating. Burial will follow at Bethel Lutheran Church cemetery in Claremont. The family will receive friends prior to the service from noon to 1:45pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to: Conover Nursing and Rehabilitation, 920 4th St SW, Conover, NC 28613, The Humane Society of Catawba County, 3224 20th Ave. SE, Hickory, NC 28602, and Parkinson’s Disease Foundation, Med Research Bldg., 650 W. 168th Street, New York, NY 10032

Condolences may be sent to the Bettini family at www.drumfh-conover.com.

The Bettini family has entrusted funeral arrangements to Drum Funeral Home & Cremation Services in Conover, NC.