Elizabeth B. Jolley

Elizabeth B. Jolley (“Betty”) was born on May 15, 1927 in St. Johnsbury, Vermont and was the only child of Ruth C. Gundaker (Dyke). During her younger years, she lived with her Nana and Uncle Sherm on a farm in Vermont. Her only uncle, Robert Dyke, lived nearby.

Betty attended Colby College where she majored in French and minored in Spanish. She remained life-long friends with her 2 college roommates, Dickie and Bobbie, who always called her “Beamo”. After college, Betty followed her mother and stepfather, Erwin Gundaker to Florida where she worked at the YMCA and met her future husband, Richard Gaines Jolley, 9 years her senior. On January 9, 1952, the two wed at First Methodist Church in Winter Park, Florida. They lived in Orlando from that point forward, residing first in Azalea Park, later moving to the Sky Lake area.

Between 1954 and 1966, Betty and Richard had 4 children, Sue Ann Jolley Via, Robert Alan Jolley, Mark Gaines Jolley, and Carol Elizabeth Jolley Welch. In addition to working hard as a mother and wife, Betty sang in the church choir, volunteered many hours at Downtown Baptist Church as a receptionist and taught English to non-English speaking adults, worked as a secretary at McConnell-Wettenhall and then was an apartment manager for Lucerne Towers in downtown Orlando. In 1985 she traveled to Europe for three weeks with her husband and daughter Carol. She drove cross country to Washington State in 1988 to visit family, traveling to the Sequoia National Forest and through the Grand Canyon on the return trip home. She retired around 1993 and shortly afterward took a cruise through the Panama Canal. She has lived with her youngest daughter, Carol, for the last 8 years.

Betty has touched the lives of so many people over the years. She always had a smile on her face and was such a pleasant person to be with. She was hard-working, articulate, elegant, proper, funny, and was always a pleasure to be around. In addition, she had a thirst for adventure and loved to travel.

Her husband, Richard, passed away 27 years ago, in 1985. Betty leaves behind her 4 children, 6 grandchildren (Sean Via, Kyle Via, Thomas Jolley, Catherine Jolley, Ashley Welch, and Bailey Welch), and 1 great-grandchild (Brayden Via) who will all miss her more than words can say.