City of Oaks Funeral Home & Cremation
Obituary
Carnella Bey
Holly Springs, North Carolina
Age 75.
Died 05/31/2026.
She was born December 19, 1950, in Montgomery, Alabama, the daughter of the late Carnell Murray and the late Louise Nelson. As a teen, Carnella participated in the infamous “Bloody Sunday” march in Selma led by Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis who fought for voting and civil rights. From the age of 16, she was raised in Southern California.
Carnella graduated from Regina Caeli Girls High School in Compton, CA. She earned her Bachelor’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills, then her Masters degree from California State University, Long Beach. She also received her Certificate in Drug and Alcohol Counseling.
For over 25 years, Carnella served as an educator in the Los Angeles County School District.
Carnella was a member of Relentless Church in Garner, NC and was dearly loved by her church family. She chose North Carolina as her home for the last 8 years.
In addition to her parents, Carnella was preceded in death by her ex-husband Woodrow Bey and by her son Arthur Bey.
Carnella is survived by her daughter, Joy Bey, and her son, Caleb Bey. She is also survived by her sister Prenise Howard Reed, younger sister, Sanseria Murray, younger brother, Russell Murray, and her youngest God-sister Celeste Smith, who has been an intricate part of her life since the age of 16.
In addition, Carnella is remembered by her five grandchildren (Caleb Jr., Lucas, Mariah, Harmony and Lamar Bey), her oldest grandchildren’s mother (Rosemarie), her God-daughters (Kim, Kedra, Kelly, Jane) and God-granddaughter (Naomi) and God-grandson (Khalil), nephew (Varion) and a host of nieces & nephews.
A special thanks to the Relentless Church family, and many extended family members and friends who walked with her and will deeply miss her.
There will be a Homegoing Service on Saturday, June 20th, 2026 at 10:00AM at Relentless Church, located at 1540 Mechanical Blvd Garner, North Carolina 27529 with Pastor David Jones officiating. The family requests in lieu of flowers that cards and memorial donations would be preferred and gratefully accepted in Carnella’s name to the following organizations:
Relentless Church Immeasurable More Campaign Building Fund Donate: https://relentlesschurch.cc/give/
RDU for FAMs Wake House Project Donate: https://carolinacarecenter.org/wakehouse/
Online condolences may be shared at Carnella *Ma Bey* Celebration of Life facebook group
https://www.facebook.com/share/g/18rKCschLC/?mibextid=wwXIfr
For additional information or for service details, please reach out to the family directly.
You can share this obituary using the following address, or click the button below to share on Facebook.
City of Oaks Cremation and Funeral Home is a full-service funeral home in Raleigh, serving all of North Carolina and beyond. We provide an alternative to costly funeral homes and every day we help families in Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and all over North Carolina make simple, affordable funeral arrangements.
Simply having to reach out to a funeral home can feel overwhelming. Our goal is to simplify the entire funeral home experience and make the process as easy as possible. We hope to eliminate any unnecessary surprises by publishing our total cost and the services we provide directly on our website. All of our obituaries are provided free of charge as a way to help families celebrate and commemorate the lives of their loved ones.
Our Promise
Apples to Apples
Just like all other licensed funeral homes in North Carolina, City of Oaks Cremation, LLC is regulated by the NC Board of Funeral Service.
The same laws that apply to the big corporate funeral homes also apply to the modest independently owned firms like ours. All crematories in North Carolina, regardless of who owns them, are inspected annually by the state and must adhere to the same rules and laws.
Genuine Care
We're committed to providing families within our community unsurpassed service before, during and after the time of loss.
Our staff will provide clear communication to your family through each step as we move forward from the original phone call notifying us of a death to the time we deliver the urn back to your family. We will treat your family with the utmost respect, as we honor the wishes of your loved one.
We promise to make this process affordable and as endurable as possible.
State Wide
Our Funeral Home is located in Wake County NC; however, we provide our services to families throughout the entire State.
Unlike other funeral homes, we don't charge an additional mileage fee. Regardless of what county you live in, we can help your family with making simple, affordable funeral arrangements. From Asheville to Wilmington, we're proud to help families statewide.
Our Services
$1196.75
Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. We include everything you need for a simple or direct cremation. Simple, affordable and reliable. We have not changed the cost of our direct cremation service since we opened City of Oaks in 2012.
$2875.66
We offer the option of choosing how you receive your loved ones remains. Selecting our Direct Cremation with Solidified Remains option is a beautiful way to transform cremated remains into 40-60 “stones” that you can hold.
$1917.84
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation option with onsite visitation. Nobody likes surprise costs added in at the last minute. We guarantee you will not find any hidden charges here. Simple, affordable and reliable.
$1596.75
City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation provides an affordable cremation with a private family viewing. A private family viewing allows up to 10 immediate family members or friends to spend time with a loved one when a public visitation is not preferred.
$2497.50
An immediate burial has the same end result as a traditional burial; however, we have eliminated the extra (sometimes unnecessary) services prior to getting to the cemetery. Not everyone wants an open casket for viewing or a limousine for the family. Despite the term immediate, we can move as fast as you need or as slow as you like. This option simply allows you to save money by eliminating some of the fancy extras at the funeral home.
$6081.48
We offer the same traditional funeral services as the big corporately owned funeral homes in the area; however, we cost about half the amount. You might consider a traditional funeral service if your family is looking for an open casket visitation, a traditional church service or a funeral service in the funeral home's chapel. A traditional funeral service can be altered to fit the needs of your family.
$3033.75
This establishment is one of a select number of funeral homes who meet the criteria for providing green funeral service by the Green Burial Council; a tax-exempt, nonprofit organization working to encourage environmentally sustainability in the field of funeral service. Our Green options allow for a funeral to take place without the use of toxic and non-biodegradable materials/chemicals.
$2640.59
As an alternative to traditional cremation, City of Oaks Funeral Home offers Alkaline Hydrolysis. The Alkaline Hydrolysis process uses a solution of water and potassium hydroxide to facilitate natural decomposition.