Rebecca Martel

Rebecca Culp Martel, 78, died Sunday, January 7, 2024 at Cuthbertson Village in Aldersgate in Charlotte. Born Friday, August 24th, 1945 in Mt. Pleasant, NC, she was the daughter of the late James Albert Culp and Janis Williamson Culp.

Becky graduated from Mt. Pleasant High School in 1963 and, with the help and encouragement of her aunt Brown Culp Chism, applied and was accepted at Duke University. While there she met Thomas S. White, whom she married after her graduation. They moved to Winston-Salem, where their two children Andy and Emily were born and raised. While living in Winston-Salem, she held several managerial positions at NC Baptist Hospital.



Becky moved to Raleigh in 1984, and while there she held roles as the Business Director of the UNC School of Dentistry, and as the Practice Manager for the Tharrington, Smith & Hargrove law firm. She moved to Wrightsville Beach in 1988 where she sold real estate for Coldwell Banker. She later returned to Raleigh, where she managed the law practice of future US Senator John Edwards.



Later stops included time in Richmond, VA where she owned and operated a cable TV construction company, and Palo Alto, CA where she spent time as an executive recruiter. Following the burst of the tech bubble, she followed the industry to Austin, TX, where she spent the last several years of her career in executive recruiting. While in Austin, she met Richard W. Martel, who she married in 2003. Upon their retirement, they liked to travel and spend time with their cats. Becky resided in Austin until Richard’s passing in early 2021. She then returned to North Carolina, and spent the last three years of her life at Aldersgate in Charlotte, where her parents also lived during their final years.

She is survived by her son Andy White and wife Alice Crowder and their children Gryffin and Noah of Marietta, GA, her daughter Emily Midea and husband Dan and their children Madison and Samantha of Hickory, NC, and her brother Alan Culp of Gold Hill, NC.

In addition to her parents, her husband Richard Martel and sister Martha Helms precede her in death.

The funeral will be 2:00 P.M. Saturday, January 13, 2024 at Bethlehem United Methodist Church in Gold Hill. 3335 Bethlehem Church Road Gold Hill, NC 28071. Burial will follow at the church.

Please sign the online guestbook on the Memorial Wall at www.jenkinsfuneralhome.net. The Martel family has entrusted arrangements to Jenkins Funeral Home and Cremation Service in Newton 828-464-1555.