Betty Faye McClendon Fuller, born July 1, 1928, passed away on Sept. 24, 2022. She lived a life of love, service and sacrifice. A love for life from her early years growing up in Ridge Grove, Alabama, she found delight in the simple form of clouds, rocks, flowers and streams. She and her best friend, MN, created a lifelong friendship filled with escapades and adventures. The retelling of such stories always entertained her family and friends through the years and offered a glimpse into her fun-loving nature.
After graduating from LaFayette High School in 1946, she attended the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing in Birmingham, and received her degree in nursing. Thus began her life of service to others. She had a true passion for helping others from managing a health department in Dadeville, Alabama, to running a nursing home facility at the same time, while also helping her husband, Hugh Dean Sr., open a Ford dealership in an old gas station on Main Street in Dadeville. With the birth of her two children, Freita and Hugh Dean, she found her true calling as a mother. Nothing was more important to her than her children. Their needs and their desires always came before her own.
She and her husband of more than 50 years, Hugh Dean Fuller Sr. (deceased), built a wonderful life together. As a couple, they loved to dance and would often take over a dance floor with their energetic steps to the beat of the music. From humble beginnings in that very first gas station on a street corner in Dadeville, she and Hugh Dean built a successful business, Fuller Ford Company, which eventually moved to Opelika, in 1965. They embraced their community by attending Trinity United Methodist Church and becoming involved in numerous organizations. They never took their success for granted and generously shared with others, always with a charitable heart.
Betty’s influence and impact, and the essence of who she was are not easily captured in words. She provided for so many while asking for little in return. She loved with a very big heart and in doing so, taught those around her how to love unconditionally.
While she will be deeply missed, her love and compassion live on through her children, her seven grandchildren, Allie, Reynolds, Cameron, Colton, Jaislee, Dean and Reagan, and her five great grandchildren who all knew her best as Bebe. We are all blessed to have known her up-close and personal. Thank you, Bebe. We love you and shall always hold you close in our hearts.
A private graveside service is planned. Memorial donations in memory of Betty may be made to Compassus Living Foundation’s Bethany House at compassuslivingfoundation.org or to the charity of your choice.
