Betty Stroud

Please Click the link below to access the Homegoing service for

1st Lady Betty Stroud

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtoODTdy_fY

Betty Elizabeth Ford Stroud

Mrs. Betty Elizabeth Ford Stroud was called home to be with the Lord on Saturday, March 30, 2024 at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina surrounded by her family. Mrs. Betty Stroud was born on August 29, 1954 in Blacksburg, SC. She was the second child of 5 to Louise Lee Ford
and Haney Ford. As the only girl out of 5 boys (including her first cousin), her siblings and family affectionately called her “Bet.” Betty grew up in the church and knew the Lord as her savior from an early age as she attended her home church of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church in Smyrna, SC.

Betty went on to attend Blacksburg High School where she was one of the first integrated classes to graduate. She was one of the first Black basketball players and cheerleaders and she received All-State recognition on the basketball court. After graduating from Blacksburg High School in 1972, she moved to Orangeburg, SC to attend South Carolina State University. While there, she received her BS in Health and Physical Education in 1976 and then she earned her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling in 1978. She also was initiated into the Zeta Kappa Chapter of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. at South Carolina State University in the Fall of 1975.

After school, she moved to Charlotte, NC where she took her first job as a Substance Abuse Counselor and Supervisor for Open House (now the McCloud Center). Afterwards, she joined the Willie M. Program as a Clinical Case Manager and soon after she worked as an investigator for the Public Defender’s office. In 1990, she joined Harding University High School where she would work the rest of her career continuing her calling of guiding and supporting our future scholars as a Guidance Counselor. She also completed her counseling in Education from University of North Carolina at Charlotte during this time. She mentored thousands of students at Harding and helped many of them apply and get admitted to colleges and universities across the country.

Shortly after moving to Charlotte in 1984, she met the love of her life, Otis Stroud Sr. from Rock Hill, SC. They quickly married on February 9, 1985 and had two courageous boys in Otis Stroud II and Jarred Stroud. Betty was a queen of a mother and an angel of a wife. She raised her boys to be strong, God fearing men who have given her two grandsons in Jaxon Christopher and Lennox Jabari. In retirement, Betty served as the First Lady at Mt. Moriah A.M.E. Zion Church. She was the co-chair of the Women’s Ministry and served faithfully through several ministries.

If you knew Betty you knew love, you knew selflessness, you knew what a follower of Jesus Christ looked like. She LOVED her family with all her heart as she attended every Lee-Ross Family Reunion and supported every family function. She was a beacon and a servant in the community as she always provided a hot meal, words of encouragement, or a handwritten birthday card. She was a dedicated Dallas Cowboys fan, a lover of all sports, puzzles, crosswords, seek and finds, and her beloved TV shows. She will be sincerely missed every day.

Betty leaves many family and friends who will cherish and remember her for the beautiful, essential soul she was. She is survived by her loving husband, Otis Sr. Two loving sons, Otis (Nakeva) Stroud II and Jarred (J’Sonya Watkins) Stroud. Her siblings Flay J. Lee, Malachi Ford, Sherwin Ford, and Alton Ford. Her in-laws Willie B. Stroud Jr. and Sarah Mae Stroud. Her aunt, Evelyn Yancey. Her first cousin Kirk (Vanessa) Yancey. Her grandchildren Jaxon Christopher, Lennox Jabari; and a host of cousins, nephews, nieces, cherished friends, Harding University family, and colleagues.

The Homegoing service for Mrs. Betty Stroud will be

Monday, April 8, 2024 at 1pm at

Greater Bethel AME Church located at

5232 The Plaza, Charlotte, NC 28215

Visitation will be from
12 Noon to 1PM preceding the Homegoing Service

The burial will be at Gethsemane Cemetery and Memorial Gardens

located at 1504 W Sugar Creek Rd Charlotte, NC 28262

There will be a repass following the interment at

Greater Bethel from 4-5pm.

All flowers and cards can be sent to Alexander Funeral Home

1424 Statesville Avenue, Charlotte, North Carolina, 28206

No time later than Friday, April 5th.