Betty Lane Buffington

She is survived by her three daughters - Hope, Heather and Carter; her brother, Richard; her ten grandchildren - Chandler, Hunter, Eleanor, Luke, Preston, Benjamin, Mills, Emily, Caison and Gabriel; and her great-grandson Colton.

A proud daughter of Virginia Beach via Raleigh, Betty built a rich and rewarding life through hard work and determination. After graduating from her beloved East Carolina University, Betty taught high school math at Apex High School for nearly thirty years. She loved connecting with her students, helping them figure out tricky algebra problems. As “Ms. Buffington,” she demanded a high level of attention, respect and hard work from all who entered her classroom.

The center of Betty’s life was her grandchildren. Her home was always open for sleepovers, family gatherings and backyard adventures. She kept a giant jar filled with mini Hershey’s bars and Double Bubble gum and a fridge fully stocked with sodas and Yoo-hoos. Her living room became the site of massive blanket forts; her backyard an imaginary town filled with criss-crossing mulch paths. Betty never missed an event in her grandchildren’s lives, whether that was a graduation, football game, band concert or anything in between. When two of her grandsons competed against each other on rival football teams, Betty sewed a shirt to wear that split each grandson’s jersey down the middle so she wouldn’t have to pick sides. She was the warm, loving grandmother that every kid hopes to have.

A lover of traveling, Betty took her first international trip in her fifties and never looked back. She hiked Machu Picchu and the Greek Isles; visited the Great Pyramids near Cairo; sailed down the Amazon River and up to Alaska; saw the twinkling lights of Paris, London and Rome; ate tapas in Spain and pretzels in Munich; and took in the vistas of the Amalfi Coast and the Irish countryside. She was also deeply devoted to her garden and spent countless hours outside “playing in the dirt,” as she called it. She could identify any flower and tell you why something wasn’t growing right in your yard. She loved live music, musicals and history, and insisted on taking each grandchild to Colonial Williamsburg to teach them about the founding of the country she loved so much.

Betty will be remembered as a person who gave much and took little. She was always generous and charitable. She was deeply loved and will be sorely missed, especially by her family. She was a very special person and leaves a legacy of curiosity, kindness, love and sacrifice.

Her funeral will be held on Saturday, January 31 at Charity United Methodist Church in Virginia Beach, V.A., where Betty will be laid to rest alongside her beloved parents Rodney and Estelle Lane.

Her family is grateful for the care and love provided by Southern Magnolia Living, Holly Springs, and hospice services, Transitions LifeCare. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Transitions LifeCare, transitionslifecare.org/donate.