Elizabeth "Betty" Grace (Crump) Potter

A memorial service will be held Friday, June 28, 2024, 11:00 a.m., at First Presbyterian Church. A visitation will follow in the Virginia Gilmer Room at the church.

Miss Betty, as she was frequently called, grew up in Lumberton, North Carolina with her parents and two younger sisters. After graduating from UNCG with a degree in elementary education, she loved teaching 2nd grade in Winston-Salem, where she met her husband, Robert Potter, on a blind date. They married in 1964, and while they were a classic example of opposites attract, they shared the same values, loved working together on home projects, and did a lot of laughing. When their daughter, Jayne, came along, they took her everywhere they went, becoming a tight-knit family of three. Jayne was extremely close to her parents, particularly to her mother. They loved many of the same things — shopping for knick knacks, talking about the latest books they’d read, lazy afternoons on the porch at the beach; they talked on the phone almost every day. Jayne and her mother also shared a love for Shan, Jayne’s husband, who Betty adored to the point that a friend jokingly asked her if she thought he could walk on water.

When she became a mom, Betty retired from teaching and turned to volunteering. The various places she volunteered is too long to list, but garden-related endeavors like Greensboro Beautiful and Wildwood Garden Club would be at the top. Funny enough, she wasn’t good at growing anything and couldn’t arrange flowers worth a cent, but she was great at organizing and working to get an event knocked out. The same was true for entertaining — she and Bob loved to entertain and would open their homes in Greensboro and Atlantic Beach for any occasion. Betty believed in using the pretty things you have as much as possible, so she delighted in pulling out the good china, cloth napkins and silver trays. She was less interested in the food she served! Cooking was not her forte, but she could make fried chicken that was unparalleled.

While her education was in teaching, she often said she was going “to hang up her shingle” as a counselor. She was an incredibly patient, supportive person to friends and family and a great listener. Even after losing her husband when she was only 65, she was amazingly positive and resilient. Later in her life, she delighted in being a First Friend at First Presbyterian Church, getting to foster relationships with seniors and homebound church members.

Of all the things she loved, though, her two granddaughters took the prize. When the first, Mary Michael, was born, Betty would drive to Raleigh every couple of weeks to see her and to bring new dresses and matching hats. Having had just one child, Betty was nervous about whether she’d be able to love a second grandchild, but that turned out to be as silly as it sounds since she adored Betsy from day one, as well. She loved being with the girls, talking to them or just listening to them carry on foolishness. She learned to text so she could keep in touch with both of them when they went to college

Betty leaves behind her daughter Jayne and son-in-law Shan Teel; granddaughters Mary Michael and Betsy Teel; sister, Jayne Malinsky and husband Mike; sister Herma Jordan and husband Jerry; nephew Matt Malinsky and nephew Josh Malinsky and wife Michelle. She also leaves behind many dear friends but especially Judi Howle, Meg Rudd and Happy Waller who have been such an important part of her life. The family would like to thank her caregivers, Khorloo (K) Gonchig and Martrice (Tracie) Mitchell for their love and kindness to Betty.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, 617 N. Elm St. Greensboro, NC 27401.

Online condolences may be made at www.haneslineberryfhnorthelm.com.