Betty Jean Simerly Barnett Taylor

Published 4:24 pm Monday, April 10, 2017

Betty Jean Simerly Barnett Taylor, 77, of Jonesborough, passed away Sunday, April 9, 2017, at her residence.
A native of Carter County, she was a daughter of the late Earl and Mary Alice Simerly. She had lived in Jonesborough for a number of years.
Betty was a homemaker. She was a member of First Free Will Baptist Church, Elizabethton.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Norman “Doc” Taylor, December 22, 2014; three brothers, Jay, Howard and Johnny Simerly; and four sisters, Ella Jane Hart, Ann Julian, Becky Livingston and Patsy Simerly.
Survivors include a son, Chris Barnett, Piney Flats; two daughters, Janice Mathes and husband Scott, Gray, and Lori Decker and husband Richard, Jonesborough; a step-son, Brian Taylor; a step-daughter, Julie Storie; nine grandchildren, Haley Lyons, Jessica Barnett, Christy Barnett, Jacob Mathes, Hannah Decker, Zachary Barnett, Tristen Storie, Beth Decker and Adam Decker; a great-granddaughter, London McKinney; three sisters, Billie Birchfield of California, Ruby Sloope of North Carolina, and Gladys Blevins, Roan Mountain; and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services for Betty Jean Simerly Barnett Taylor will be conducted at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 12, at Memorial Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Bill Greer officiating. The graveside service and interment will be at 11 a.m. Thursday, April 13, at Happy Valley Memorial Park. Active pallbearers, who are requested to assemble at the funeral home at 10:20 a.m. Thursday, will be Richard Decker, Scott Mathes, Jacob Mathes, Keith Culler, Richard Culler and Michael Holmes. The family will receive friends from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home. To those who prefer, memorials may be made in memory of Betty to the Shriners Hospital for Children, 950 W. Faris Road, Greenville, SC 29605-4255. Family and friends will assemble at the funeral home at 10:20 a.m. Thursday to go to the cemetery. Condolences may be sent to the family at our website at www.memorialfcelizabethton.com.
Memorial Funeral Chapel, 212 N. Main Street, Elizabethton, (423) 543-3839, is serving the Taylor family.