Betty Jean Brice

Betty Jean Brice, born Saint Tanyon, was called by all who knew her “Grandma Brice.” Born on July 1st 1931, she was the second to last of 15 children. She retired from Nestlé after working there for over 25 years. Since she came from a baker’s dozen plus some, she had always dreamed of having her own. At the tender age of 17, she saw a handsome black man with beautiful hair walking by her house and the rest was history. Together, Betty and R.D. Brice created a legacy and became the foundation of what the Brice family is today. All who met her immediately saw what a kind, loving, and hard-working soul she was. She loved her six children fiercely and adopter their friends as their own. As her family expanded, the great grandchildren fondly called her GG. She would host the best holiday parties with music good, good food, and laughter. She tasked her kids to watch her soap operas for her when she had to work so she wouldn’t miss anything. Though she had a tender heart, she wouldn’t hesitate to scold the kids if they misbehaved, whether with a slipper or a willow branch. I’m sure they hoped for the former. Most importantly, she was an active member of her church and loved to sing with the choir on Sundays. Even strangers who met her could see the love of God she had inside of her in the way she treated each and every person she met. In 2007, tragedy struck when she lost her third born son Larry to cancer and again when she lost her beloved R.D: her soul mate and partner in life. Her oldest son Melvin passed as well. Even still, she continued to be the same loving and thoughtful woman everyone knew her to be. Most know that when our elder lose their partners, they go soon after as they can’t imagine living without them. Betty stayed for her children and even as she battled dementia for several years, she stayed as long as she could and went peacefully in her home surrounded by those she loved. She left her legacy in the hands of her four living children Phaye, Billy, Tommy, and Brenda as well as her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Betty Jean will forever remain in our hearts and we celebrate her being in the arms of her of her husband and two sons.

Betty Jean Brice

July 1, 1931 - March 20, 2024