Singer/songwriter Betty Wright’s funeral fit for a superstar

Her final exit, a horse-drawn glass carriage

NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. – One final goodbye Saturday at Bethel Apostolic Church for Miami music legend Betty Wright.

It was a funeral fit for a superstar to celebrate a life so rich in talent and humanity honored in the town where she was born.

In the age of coronavirus, everyone wore masks, pallbearers wore black masks emblazoned with a picture of Wright and the words The Life of a Legend. Hymns were sung, there was much music, and proclamations, one read bestowed upon Wright from Florida Congresswoman Frederica Wilson.

"God, our Father, we thank you. We thank you for the life of this great woman," Rev. Mark Cooper said from the lectern.

2 Live Crew’s Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell said: “Me and her always, we were friends until the end.”

Born and raised in Miami’s Liberty City, Wright died on May 10 at the age of 66 after a battle with cancer, but those who knew her say she is not completely gone.

Her final exit was made as her coffin was placed in a glass carriage pulled by two white horses.

The family of Betty Wright invited fans of the late soul and R&B singer/songwriter to watch the service online at Local10.com so as to not gather a crowd in the church where the service took place. The livestream was in partnership with Florida Memorial University.

RELATED: Watch Local 10′s Calvin Hughes’ personal tribute below


About the Authors

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. 

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