Ethel Grace Bess Best

Ethel Grace Best

May 5, 1934 - October 21, 2025

Obituary

MOTHER ETHEL GRACE BEST, often called “Cutie,” is the youngest child of the late Authur Best and Mother Gertrude Best. She was born May 5, 1934, in Pitt County, North Carolina. As a young child, she became a member of the Holly Hill Free Will Baptist Church in Belvoir, North Carolina, and was educated within the Pitt County School System. Moses Best enlisted in the United States Air Force in his early 20s and served during the Korean War as a “Medic,” receiving an honorable discharge.

After the Cold War, Moses James Best and Ethel Grace Best married in North Carolina, and eventually moved to Connecticut, where the Lord would eventually bless them with five boys. They later moved from Connecticut to North Carolina to be near their aging parents. Mother Ethel Best later became a member, joining her husband, at the Warren Chapel Free Will Baptist Church during the late 1960s. She returned to nursing in North Carolina and was later employed at various medical facilities. She later worked for the Union Carbide Corporation in Greenville, NC.

Mother Ethel Best was a strong fundraiser at Warren Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. She was the Chair of the Stewardship Board, where she annually raised thousands of dollars for this church. She was a member of the mother’s board, the gospel chorus, and the usher board.

As a result, she required that their children attend Sunday school classes at Warren Chapel Free Will Baptist Church. She believed that her children should pursue an education beyond high school and/or own their own business. In fact, three of her sons (Reverend Broderick Best, Richard Best, and Reverend Major Best) own their own barbershops as Sole Proprietors. Arthur Best is a Real Estate Broker in the Greater Atlanta Region. Dr. Felton Best is a College Professor, University Administrator, Author, Real Estate Investor, Senior Pastor of the Sanctuary of Faith and Glory Church, and Chief Apostle of the International Fellowship of Sanctuary of Faith and Glory Churches, overseeing several pastors, bishops, and apostles in the states of Connecticut, New York, North Carolina, and Florida.

Upon moving to Connecticut as a result of her illness, she became a Church Mother at the Sanctuary of Faith and Glory Church in Windsor, Connecticut,

Mother Ethel Best leaves to carry on her legacy, five sons, Bishop Felton (Janice) Best, Plainville, CT; Elder Broderick (Margaret) Best, Ayden, NC; Richard Best, Farmville, NC; Arthur (Teecia) Best, Lawrenceville, GA; and Reverend Major (Portia) Best, Raleigh, NC. She also leaves eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Mother Ethel Best also claimed her sister’s daughter (Darilyn) as her own daughter upon the passing of her sister. She also has a host of nephews and nieces, who are the offspring of her husband’s sisters and brothers.

God gave Mother Ethel Best to us; therefore, we give her back to Him, where she shall eternally rest in heaven, thus ceasing from her assigned labor on earth.

To God be the Glory, Amen!