The Hartselle, Alabama community is mourning deeply following the passing of Ashley Dawn Hagood, age 33, who died on April 11, 2026. Born on April 24, 1992, Ashley lived a life defined by deep love, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to her family. She was a devoted mother, daughter, sister, and friend whose strength and determination touched everyone around her. She was widely admired for her tireless devotion to her children and her ability to overcome challenges with courage and grace.
Known affectionately as a Wonder Woman mother, Ashley consistently placed her family first, ensuring that her children were cared for and supported in every possible way. Professionally, Ashley served as an Executive Assistant at Lektron, Inc., where she earned the respect of colleagues through her dependability, strong work ethic, and dedication to excellence.
Beyond her career, she was remembered for her loyal heart, compassionate nature, and the warmth she extended to those in her life. As her family and friends prepare to say their final goodbyes, they are holding onto memories of a woman whose strength, devotion, and unconditional love will never be forgotten.
A Life Defined by Deep Love and Resilience
Ashley Dawn Hagood was born on April 24, 1992. She was 33 years old at the time of her passing, an age that feels far too young for a woman who had so much love left to give. The original article does not specify the cause of her death, and that absence is intentional. What matters is not how she died but how she lived. And she lived with deep love, resilience, and an unwavering commitment to her family.
Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity, to keep going when life is hard, to find strength in the midst of struggle. Ashley had resilience. She faced challenges that would have broken others, and she not only survived but thrived. She overcame with courage and grace, two qualities that are rare and precious.
Courage is not the absence of fear. It is the determination to move forward despite fear. Ashley had courage. Grace is the ability to suffer with dignity, to extend kindness even when kindness is not returned, to be a source of light in dark times. Ashley had grace.
A Wonder Woman Mother
Ashley was widely admired for her tireless devotion to her children. Known affectionately as a Wonder Woman mother, she consistently placed her family first, ensuring that her children were cared for and supported in every possible way. Wonder Woman is a superhero, a figure of strength, compassion, and unwavering commitment to protecting the vulnerable. Ashley embodied those qualities in her role as a mother.
She is survived by her beloved son, Bentley Owen Pledger. Bentley was the center of his mother’s world. She would have done anything for him. She would have moved mountains, crossed oceans, fought armies. That is what Wonder Woman mothers do. They love without limit. They sacrifice without complaint. They give without counting the cost.
The original article also lists Ashley as being mourned alongside her children, Bryant Christopher Ballew, Bryleigh Grace Pledger, and Brynleigh Nell Pledger, whose memories remain forever intertwined with hers. This language suggests that these children predeceased Ashley. The loss of a child is the deepest pain a parent can experience. Ashley carried that pain, and she continued to love, to live, to be a Wonder Woman mother to Bentley despite the grief. Her resilience in the face of such loss is a testament to her extraordinary strength.
A Dedicated Professional at Lektron, Inc.
Professionally, Ashley served as an Executive Assistant at Lektron, Inc., where she earned the respect of colleagues through her dependability, strong work ethic, and dedication to excellence. An Executive Assistant is the backbone of an organization. They keep schedules organized, manage communications, solve problems, and ensure that everything runs smoothly. The job requires intelligence, patience, and attention to detail. Ashley had all three.
She earned the respect of her colleagues. Respect is not given freely. It must be earned through consistent behavior, through reliability, through the quality of one’s work. Ashley earned it. Her colleagues knew that they could count on her. They knew that she would show up, do the work, and do it well.
Beyond her career, she was remembered for her loyal heart, compassionate nature, and the warmth she extended to those in her life. A loyal heart is a heart that does not give up on people. It stays through the hard times. It defends when others attack. It loves without condition. Ashley had a loyal heart. Her compassionate nature meant that she felt the pain of others and was moved to help. Her warmth made people feel safe and valued.
The Family She Leaves Behind
Ashley is survived by her father, Chris Hagood. A father’s love for his daughter is a unique and powerful bond. Chris has lost his daughter, a loss that no parent should have to endure. He will carry her memory with him every day for the rest of his life.
She is survived by her brothers, Trevor Hagood (Keith), Brian Kemper (Trinity), and Graham Segrest (Leigh Ellen). Brothers and sisters share a bond that is often unspoken but deeply felt. They have lost a sister, a confidante, a friend. They will support each other through the grief.
She is survived by her sisters, Bella Graves (Dayton) and Savannah Graves (Duncan). The bond between sisters is special. They share secrets, dreams, and a history that no one else can fully understand. Bella and Savannah have lost that connection, but they will carry Ashley’s memory with them.
She is survived by her grandmother, Marie Hagood. A grandmother’s love is a treasure. Marie has lost her granddaughter, but she will hold onto the memories of Ashley as a child, as a young woman, as a mother.
She is survived by her beloved son, Bentley Owen Pledger, along with many extended family members, aunts, uncles, and cousins who cherished her deeply. Bentley is the living legacy of his mother’s love. He will grow up knowing that his mother was a Wonder Woman, that she loved him more than anything, that she fought for him every day.
Ashley was preceded in death by her grandfather Lynn Hagood, grandmother Teresa Gilbert, and stepmother Carolyn Hagood. She is now with them, reunited in a place where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, only peace.
She is also mourned alongside her children, Bryant Christopher Ballew, Bryleigh Grace Pledger, and Brynleigh Nell Pledger, whose memories remain forever intertwined with hers. The family’s grief is compounded by the loss of multiple children, a weight that is almost too heavy to bear. But they carry it together, supporting one another, holding onto each other.
The Funeral Service
A funeral service will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM at First Methodist Church Hartselle, followed by burial at Hartselle Memory Gardens. Visitation will take place from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at the church.
First Methodist Church Hartselle is a place of faith, of community, of solace. The church will be filled with people who loved Ashley. They will hear scripture, sing hymns, and share memories. They will cry together and pray together. They will begin the process of healing.
The visitation from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM is an opportunity for friends and family to offer personal condolences, to hug, to hold hands, to say the words that are too hard to say at the service. It is a time for quiet support, for presence, for love.
The burial at Hartselle Memory Gardens is the final act of love. Ashley will be laid to rest in a peaceful place, near her home, near her family, near the community that loved her. Her grave will be a place for her loved ones to visit, to remember, to grieve, and to find comfort.
Holding Onto Memories
As the funeral approaches and the family prepares to say their final goodbyes, they are left to do the hardest work of all. They must hold onto their memories of Ashley while also confronting the reality of her death. They must grieve her loss while also caring for Bentley and supporting one another. They must find a way to go on without her.
Ashley was 33. She had decades of life ahead of her. She had a son who needs his mother, a father who needs his daughter, siblings who need their sister, friends who need her warmth. That is the unspeakable tragedy of a death at a young age. It is not just the loss of what was. It is the loss of what could have been.
But what was still matters. The 33 years that Ashley lived, the people she loved, the joy she brought, the memories she created these things are not erased by her death. They remain. They are the inheritance of her son Bentley, her father Chris, her siblings, her grandmother, and everyone who knew her. And as long as those memories are held and shared and cherished, Ashley Dawn Hagood will never truly be gone.
She will live on in Bentley’s smile, in the stories told at family gatherings, in the values she instilled in those she loved. Her legacy is not just in the past. It is in the present and the future, in the lives of everyone she touched.
Conclusion A Wonder Woman Remembered
The passing of Ashley Dawn Hagood at age 33 is a tragedy that has left the Hartselle community in mourning. A devoted Wonder Woman mother, a dedicated Executive Assistant, a loyal daughter, sister, and friend is gone. Her strength, her resilience, her courage, and her grace will be remembered forever.
As her family and friends gather at First Methodist Church Hartselle on April 18, they will celebrate her life even as they mourn her death. They will lay her to rest at Hartselle Memory Gardens, and they will carry her memory in their hearts.
Ashley will be remembered for her strength, devotion, and unconditional love. Her legacy will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved her.
Rest in peace, Ashley Dawn Hagood. You were loved. You will be missed. And your memory will live on in the heart of your son Bentley, in the hearts of your family, and in the hearts of everyone who knew you. Gone too soon, forever remembered.


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