Bettie Ann Johnson

Bettie Ann Orenduff Johnson was born on January 27, 1939, in Portsmouth, Virginia, and passed away on March 7, 2025, in Raleigh, North Carolina. She was the daughter of Edward Alexander Orenduff and Bettie Cole Westbrook Orenduff Holland.

While studying at James Madison University, Bettie Ann returned home to Portsmouth for a Woodrow Wilson High School reunion and connected with Taylor Johnson, which led to their marriage in 1959. Bettie Ann began her career teaching the fourth grade but quickly transitioned to a job in the Duke Hospital Pharmacy. Life changed in 1961 with the birth of her first daughter, Elizabeth, while living in Bethesda, Maryland, and again with Tricia, who arrived a little over a year later in 1962. These experiences helped solidify Bettie Ann’s lifelong role as a supporter, nurturer, and advisor for her entire family, and indeed all those in her life.

As the wife of a Navy physician, she was no stranger to relocation and led her family through transitions to several new duty stations, building happy, full homes across moves to Durham, San Diego, Philadelphia, and Bethesda. She used this experience to help other Navy families navigate similar moves through her active service in the Navy Doctors Wives Club and her personal outreach with the Dermatology Department at the National Naval Medical Center.

Bettie Ann later became the operational backbone of a private medical practice she started with Taylor upon his retirement from the Navy in 1981, growing it from a once-a-week moonlighting effort to a busy, full-time practice which they operated until they retired in 2004. In retirement, Bettie Ann and Taylor moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, where Bettie Ann found new ways to be active in the community, particularly by volunteer landscaping at the Memorial Gardens for the Kenan Chapel in Landfall. In January 2025, Bettie Ann and Taylor moved to Raleigh, NC to be closer to family and her treasured Duke basketball team.

Bettie Ann’s warm welcome, combined with her tasty, bountiful cooking, made her home the gathering spot for family and friends for decades, with groups of Liz and Tricia’s friends, family Thanksgivings, Navy events, and sleepovers for her grandchildren all hosted beneath her roof. She loved her homes and took great pleasure in decorating them, both inside and out, with a special love for her gardens. Her tireless efforts made each house a home in which all of her friends and family wanted to spend their time. In addition to decorating, Bettie Ann enjoyed painting and had several of her original works in her homes. Her love of nature’s beauty was the inspiration for many of her original designs.

Bettie Ann was a lifelong Presbyterian and was always active in her church, and brought her listening and empathy skills to individuals in need of support through her training and service as a Stephen Minister. She shared her commitment to creating educational opportunities for women with her sisters at P.E.O. International, an organization with which she remained active until her death. In retirement, in addition to her gardening, Bettie Ann enjoyed her book club and her birds, especially her bluebirds, who learned they would be rewarded with fresh food if they gently pecked on her bedroom window in the morning.

Bettie Ann never lost her focus on nurturing her family and friends, and her open arms, warmth, care and love of all she knew will be greatly missed.

Bettie Ann is survived by her husband of 66 years, Taylor Johnson, her daughters and sons-in-law: Elizabeth & Mark Gustafson and Patricia & Robb Kirchner; and her grandchildren: Devin Gustafson-King, Andrew Gustafson, Brett Kirchner, and Stephen Kirchner. Bettie Ann was one of four children and is survived by her brothers and their wives: Linwood & Susan Orenduff, Edward Orenduff, and Andrew & Shannon Orenduff.

A service to celebrate Bettie Ann’s life will be held on April 5, 2025, at 10:30 am in the Kenan Chapel at Landfall, Wilmington, North Carolina.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to one of Bettie Ann’s favorite organizations:

The First Presbyterian Church of Wilmington NC

The Frank H. Kenan Chapel at Landfall Memorial Garden Fund

P.E.O. Chapter BH Program for Continuing Education – for the Donation Details page, please select ‘P.E.O. Program for Continuing Education’ in the ‘Direct Gift To’ field, ‘Yes’, in the ‘Chapter Credit’ field, and ‘BH/NC Wilmington’ as the P.E.O. Chapter.