Betty Speagle Harvey

Betty Speagle Harvey died June 9, 2020 after a long battle with vascular dementia. She was 87 years old. Betty was born March 16, 1933 in Lower Fork Township, Burke County NC, the child of Frank and Phebie (Downs) Speagle. She was delivered by a midwife at home. At the age of fifteen and a half Betty applied for a part-time job and discovered that no live birth certificate had been filed for her. Her mother and uncle, family bible in hand, accompanied her to the Burke County Courthouse in Morganton to obtain her birth certificate. Betty would later lament that this didn’t allow her to take fifteen and a half years off her age. Betty graduated from Mountain View High School in 1951 and from the Rowan Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1955. The Saturday following her graduation from nursing school, she married John L. Harvey Jr., to whom she remained married until his death in 2009. They lived in Salisbury, NC throughout their marriage. She was a Cub Scout den mother for her young son and a Brownie Scout leader for her young daughter. While a full-time wife and mother, Betty worked part time at Rowan Regional Hospital and provided private nursing services and exams for various insurance companies. She was a regular blood donor and long- time volunteer for the Red Cross blood donation centers. Betty and her husband were active members of Milford Hills Methodist Church, being among its first members. They also were avid volunteers for Meals on Wheels. Until she needed to move into assisted living, Betty was a fixture at the Salisbury YMCA water aerobic classes. She was predeceased in death by her mother and father, sisters Pauline Bradshaw, Irene Whisnant, Ruth Lutz, and Frances Porell, and brother Ralph. She is survived by her son Michael and his wife Anne, daughter Susan and her husband Robert Hansen, grandchildren Grace (Grayson) and Tristan Harvey and Michelle (J.R.) Hansen, sisters Dorothy Denniston and Peggy Fox, and numerous nieces, nephews, grand nieces, and grand nephews. A private service will be held for the family. Memorials may be made to Milford Hills Methodist Church, 1630 Statesville Blvd, Salisbury, NC 28144. Summersett Funeral Home is serving the Harvey family. Online condolences may be made by www.summersettfuneralhome.com.

Betty Speagle Harvey

March 16, 1933 - June 9, 2020