When Barbara Jean Bailey married George William Levett, Sr., she knew he wanted to go into the funeral business. So she not only agreed to marry him in 1948, but she made a commitment to support his professional career.
“She was right here with him,” said son George W. Levett Jr., who runs the Levett Funeral Home in Conyers. “And she was still here after he died. She really knew this business.”
The Levetts were married for 56 years when he died in 2004, but she remained a key adviser to her sons until her health would no longer allow it, they said.
Barbara Jean Bailey Levett, of Conyers, died Nov. 3, from complications of cancer. She was 79. A funeral was held Friday at Voices of Faith Ministries. Levett Funeral Home, the business founded by her husband, and Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Homes and Crematory, run by one of her sons, shared the arrangements.
A native of Rockdale County, Levett went to Catholic school as a young girl. She left school in the 10th grade and began to working to help her parents. An only child, Levett had seven children, six of whom survive her. She enjoyed it when her children gathered at her home for meals and fellowship, said Jerome Levett, her eldest son.
“She loved for people to come visit her so she could cook for them,” he said. “It didn’t have to be a special occasion. She just enjoyed it.”
In the family business, Barbara Levett was known as a level-headed decision maker, said son George Levett. In the early days she helped her husband get the funeral home on solid footing. The Levett Funeral Home, which opened in 1964 in Conyers under the name Levett and Young Funeral Home, is believed to be the oldest black-owned business in Rockdale County, her sons said.
“Dad was the type that if he saw adventure, he’d run for it,” Levett said. “But she was the balance, so to speak. She’d help him slow down a little and think about things.”
She remained a valuable part of the business team throughout her years, her sons said. They often consulted her before making decisions.
“See, what we knew was she’d been around this business for a long time and she knew a lot of things we didn’t,” George Levett said. “She didn’t go on funerals anymore, but she was very involved with the day-to-day operations for a long time.”
In addition to her two sons, survivors include two additional sons, Gregory B. Levett Sr. and Grote L. Levett; two daughters, Marilyn Levett Brown and Sonya Levett; and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
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