Mrs. Betty Jean Burns crossed from one side of eternity to the next on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, in her home in Alpharetta, Georgia. She is remembered as a loving wife and mother and an educator with a passion for instilling a love of learning into others.
Betty was born on October 19, 1962 inside of a house in a residential block of Zachary, Louisiana. Her father, Thomas Raymond Wallace, Jr., was a pastor in the Methodist Church, and her mother, Maude Wallace, was a cafeteria worker in the nearby school.
The youngest of four children, Betty was brought into the world during an era rife with chaos and political upset, as the Civil Rights Movement pressed on throughout the United States. Six months preceding her birth was a bombing by the Ku Klux Klan at Lake Bistineau in Louisiana, just 4 hours away from the place she would take her first breath. These tumultuous periods in time would shape Betty's childhood, as she began attending elementary school classes at a desegrated school a few short years after Ruby Bridges was escorted into a New Orleans elementary school by U.S. Marshals.
Betty graduated from Leesville High School in Louisiana. She later attended Northwestern State University in Louisiana and Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Sociology with a minor in Criminal Justice. She then received her Master's degree in Special Education and Early Childhood Education from Valdosta State University in Georgia.
Betty met and married the love of her life, Freddie Burns. They loved and uplifted each other while creating wonderful memories with their children and living in Leesville, Louisiana, Lawton, Oklahoma, and Atlanta, Georgia.

While supporting the military community, Betty led the Family Support Group during Freddie's command of Alpha Battery, Second Battalion, Second Field Artillery. Her efforts earned her a Commander's Coin from the Fort Sill post commander. Betty also supported the community spiritually. She worked as a gospel disc jockey at the local radio station spreading God's word through music under her radio name "Sister Angelica".

Betty served as a social services tech for the Dekalb Community Service Board. Here she led the crisis treatment team in providing intervention and psychological services for children in Department of Family and Children Services custody.
In Henry County Georgia, Betty discovered her love and passion for teaching. Starting with a stint as a Counseling Secretary/Registrar at Austin Road Middle School, Betty saw the impact her presence could have on students in need of another gentle hand guiding them through their formative years. Betty sought her certification and began teaching independently in classrooms in 2004.
From there, Betty touched lives along multiple grade-levels, moving from Henry to Fulton County, from middle school to elementary school, and finally into Special Education Pre-school. She worked with teachers and parents to support students experiencing a myriad of setbacks preventing them from learning, and developed curriculum to give specialized instruction to students with a variety of exceptionalities. In 2016, she was selected as Teacher of the Year for New Prospect Elementary School in Fulton County, and in 2018 she served as an Exceptional Children's Week chairperson while in Forsyth County.
In 2020, when the novel coronavirus swept the nation, Betty walked away from teaching. She then gathered the zeal she once put into developing curriculum and decorating bulletin boards into helping her grandchildren navigate the confusing and complex educational landscape caused by COVID-19. Though now in a spare bedroom converted into a classroom, Betty created the Grandma Academy and continued to inspire young minds with a love of learning.
Betty was an attentive and steadfast wife, a warm but fierce mother, a consummate professional and a beautiful spirit. She vigorously encouraged, educated, defended, pushed, pulled, promoted, and uplifted her own children over their years both before and throughout their adulthood. Her children were her passion.

Betty was an avid activist and talented writer. She confronted all situations that failed to support the common good for people. She influenced fairness and that influence will forever remain in the lives of all who knew her.

Betty is survived by her loving husband, Ferdinand (Freddie) Burns, III, her loving children: daughters Gelisha Taylor-Barksdale, LaToya Pope (JaEll), Teri Holt, Asia Blankenship (Seth), her sons, Ferdinand Alexander Burns IV, Aaron Holt, Brian Holt, and Gordie Holt; her grandchildren, Aiyanna Taylor, Briannon Holt, JaQuentin Madison, Jocelyn Holt, Zoe Willis, Zander Willis, Christian Holt, Kaiden Barksdale, Caleb Brantley Pope. Betty is also survived by three sisters, Raymonda Waller, of New Orleans, Louisiana, Ruby Marie Pitts of Atlanta, Georgia, and Barbara Johnson of Deridder, Louisiana and a host of nieces and nephews.

Friends can attend a viewing and visit with the family on Saturday, October 19, 2024 from 1:00pm until 3:00pm at the Northside Chapel at 12050 Crabapple Rd. Roswell, Georgia.
Please visit www.northsidechapel.com to share memories and leave condolences to the family.