Betty Jean Gurley Young, 88, of Iuka, Mississippi, passed away, Monday, April 8, 2024. Surrounded by her loved ones, she peacefully departed from this world. Betty was born February 18, 1936, to the late Curtis Dudley and Stella Crawford Gurley in Dorsey, Itawamba County, Mississippi. She was the beloved wife of the late Willie Dan Young for 65 years; adored mother of Lauren Young Nunley (Herman) and D. L. “Danny” Young (Debbie); cherished grandmother of Danielle McDeavitt (J. D.), Claire Williams (Brooks), Mary Beth Sheffield (Kevin), Daniel Young (Anna), and John Landon Young; and endeared great-grandmother of Bryson Taylor, Blaine McDeavitt, Ayden McDeavitt, Hayden Taylor, Noah Sheffield, Charli Beth Sheffield, Adalyn McDeavitt, Stella Grace Williams, Sadie Brooke Williams, Harris Young, Evelyn Kathryn Sheffield, and Elizabeth Young. She was also the godmother to many from her banking career and church family. Betty graduated from Iuka High School, received her degree from Northeast Mississippi Community College, and was awarded a PHT (Putting Hubby Through) from Mississippi State University. While at Northeast, she met the love of her life. Despite having a 103 fever, she was not canceling their blind date. Betty started her career in Florence, Alabama and retired as the Vice President and Loan Officer of Iuka Guaranty Bank in 1997 after over forty years in banking. She was not only a banker by trade, she was a master at it. She was voted Businessperson of the Year by the Mississippi FBLA/PBL State Chapter at the 1993 State Leadership Conference. She was a member of FBLA, Pilot Club, NABW (National Association of Banking Women), and various others. She loved to take care of others and make sure her family was well provided and cared for. She enjoyed many things throughout her life such as seeing to her plants, photographing her family, watching and feeding birds, being Annie Oakley with her BB gun, feeding all the stray cats and dogs (even the neighbor’s dog on a strict diet), washing dishes for her favorite chef (her Dan), watching her MSU bulldogs, teaching her Sunday school class; but nothing brought her greater joy than spending time with her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Willie Dan Young; her mother, Stella Crawford Gurley; two sisters, Bonnie Ruth Bullard and Mary Evelyn Wheeler; and three brothers, Aubrey Laverne Gurley, Billy H. Gurley, and Loren Dale Gurley. Cutshall Funeral Home of Iuka, MS is entrusted with the arrangements. A visitation for Betty is planned for Wednesday, April 10th, from 1:00 until 3:00 at Iuka Methodist Church in Iuka. The funeral service will be held at Iuka Methodist Church at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 10th, officiated by the Reverend Dr. Prentiss M. Gordon, Jr. and Bro. David Gould. A graveside service will be held immediately following the funeral at Oak Grove Cemetery in Iuka. Pallbearers will be Daniel Young, John Landon Young, Brooks Williams, Kevin Sheffield, J. D. McDeavitt, and Bryson Taylor. Honorary pallbearers include Harris Young, Hayden Taylor, Noah Sheffield, Blaine McDeavitt, and Ayden McDeavitt. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to LeBonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and Palmer Home for Children in Columbus, Mississippi.
