Elizabeth “Bettie” Gaither Stokes passed away on Monday January 19, 2026 at the age of 100. A devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she carried herself with a confidence and serenity that came from a sincere gratitude for her blessings and a life well-lived.
It’s not easy to sum up a life that spanned a century, especially for a woman as involved and active as Bettie. The youngest of three children, she was born Elizabeth Wood Gaither on July 28, 1925 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. After graduating high school, she attended Saint Mary’s College in Raleigh for two years before transferring to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduating in 1946. At UNC, she majored in Spanish and spent one semester studying abroad in Mexico. Bettie was the first female business manager for UNC’s student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, and also appeared on its cover as part of UNC’s first majorette team.
A life-long Episcopalian, Bettie was always active in her local congregation. Over the course of her adult life, she belonged and was a volunteer leader in seven different congregations in North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland. Among her many church leadership roles, she served as President of the Episcopal Church Women of the Eastern Diocese of North Carolina, Board Member of the Anglican Fellowship of Prayer, and Delegate to the 1985 Episcopal Churchwomen Triennium. She was also active in her local churches, serving on Altar Guilds, Search Committees, Planning Committees, and Vestries. She put her faith into action when she felt a need to serve her community of Rocky Mount: In the 1970s, Bettie was a driving force behind establishing the first faith-based telephone suicide/crisis hotline in Nash and Edgecomb counties.
Bettie had a unique energy and enthusiasm for life that lasted throughout her one hundred years. She loved golf, once playing in the Championship Flight of the NC Women’s Golf Association Tournament. She was also a fierce bridge player and avid traveler. She was a member of the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of North Carolina for over 60 years. In recent years, declining mobility did not keep her from participating in the activities that she loved. Throughout her long life she was known by all as a gracious and generous southern lady.
Bettie relished opportunities to bring her family together through frequent reunions and holidays. Many summers were spent and happy memories were made with her children and later, grandchildren, at the family cottage in Nags Head.
Bettie was preceded in death by her parents, William G. and Helen Robinson Gaither, her siblings, William G. Gaither, Jr. and Leigh G. Overton, husband, Henry Clay Stokes, Jr., step-son Henry Stokes, III and grandson, Joe Ben Cordell, III. She is survived by her three children: Christine Weatherly Cordell (Joe) of Cashiers, NC, Joseph Elwood Weatherly, III (Mitzie) of Greensboro, NC, and Elizabeth Weatherly James (John) of Richmond, VA. She is also survived by five grandchildren: Elizabeth Cordell Rice (Sean), John Alfred James, III (Danielle), Lauren Elizabeth Weatherly (Lori), Sarah James McEntee (Robert), Mary Margaret Weatherly Baer (Matt); and four great-grandchildren: Walker Rice, Decker Rice, Leigh James, and Blair McEntee. She is also survived by her step-daughters, Caroline Stokes Burnett and Suzanne Stokes Niver (Mike). She was pre-deceased by her former husband the father of her three children, J. Elwood Weatherly, Jr.
A memorial service will be at 2 PM, Thursday, February 19, 2026 at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 607 N. Greene St., Greensboro, NC 27401. The family will receive guests following the service in the Haywood Duke Room.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to St. Mary’s School, Raleigh, NC or St. Andrews-By-The-Sea Episcopal Church, Nags Head, NC.
