Betty Ann Dorman

With hearts full of both love and joy, we celebrate the extraordinary life of Betty Ann Dorman, a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, nurse, teacher, friend—and above all, a faithful servant of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Born Mary Elizabeth Ann Buie on May 20, 1939, in Red Springs, North Carolina, Betty Ann carried the proud heritage of her Scottish lineage, named after three queens of Scotland and England. She was the eldest of three children born to Lape and Martha Wardlaw Buie and grew up working hard and loving deeply on the family’s 100-acre farm, where cotton, soybeans, corn, and tobacco were grown. That early life of service, community, and faith laid the foundation for all that was to come.

Known by many cherished names and titles - Betty Ann, Wife, Mom, Grammy, Nurse, Teacher, Elder, Counselor, Leader, Believer, and Friend - she spent her life wearing each with grace, purpose, and joy. From a young age, she knew she wanted to be a nurse, and that desire to care for others blossomed into a remarkable life of service across communities and continents.

She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Nursing in May 1961, a proud member of the program’s second graduating class. That same year, on June 9, she married her high school sweetheart, Marvin Kay Dorman, Jr., beginning a loving marriage that would last 64 beautiful years.

Together, they raised and loved their two children, Laurie Anne and John, and their spouses Karen and Brian—and poured their hearts and time into the lives of their nine grandchildren—Grace Anne (married to Houston), Lexie (married to Triston), Hope, Hannah (married to Trevor), Rose, John Michael, Caleb, Molly, and Nathaniel—and four great-grandchildren—Walker, Sutton Anne, Silas, and one on the way.

Betty Ann lived her life by a simple yet powerful truth: Jesus Christ is Lord. She accepted Him as her Savior as a child and rededicated her life to Him in 1965, a turning point that forever shaped her journey. From that moment forward, her life radiated the love, joy, and compassion of Christ in every role she served.

She gave her heart and hands to healing through her decades-long nursing career—serving in obstetrics at North Carolina Memorial Hospital, as a public health nurse and supervisor with Wake County, psychiatric instructor at Dorthea Dix Hospital, floor supervisor at Raleigh Community Hospital, and as a volunteer at Urban Ministries Open Door Clinic. She answered the call to serve on medical mission trips to Haiti, South Korea, Bolivia, and New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina—each time bringing not only skill, but spirit, warmth, and Gospel hope.

A devoted Sunday school teacher for over 50 years at First Presbyterian Church, she also led numerous in-home Bible studies and served as a Bible Study Fellowship assistant teaching leader, pouring into generations of women with scriptural wisdom and Christ-centered mentorship. She joyfully participated as a counselor during the 1972 Billy Graham Crusade at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, offering prayer and Gospel truth to those seeking eternal hope.

To Betty Ann, everyone was someone to love and serve. She lived out the B.L.E.S.S. approach in all she did—Beginning with prayer, Listening with compassion, Eating and fellowshipping with joy, Serving with humility, and Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with boldness and gentleness. Her care touched patients, coworkers, neighbors, foreign exchange students, and all who crossed her path.

She could often be found either on her knees in prayer or with her well-worn, heavily highlighted Bible open before her—seeking the Lord, interceding for others, and filling herself with God’s Word. Her deep faith was not performative, but powerfully personal, the very heartbeat of her daily life.

Quick on her feet (literally a fast walker), gentle in speech, strong in spirit, and unwavering in her faith, Betty Ann’s legacy is one of grace in action. She did not merely believe in the Gospel; she lived it with every breath. Her love for Marvin, her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and extended family was rooted in a deeper love—the unfailing love of Christ.

Today, we rejoice in knowing that Betty Ann has been welcomed home by the Savior she adored, hearing the words she lived her life to receive: “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

Her legacy will live on in every life she touched and in every heart that carries forward her example of joyful service and unwavering faith. She lived not for herself, but for her King—and now she lives eternally with Him. Thanks be to God for the life of Betty Ann Dorman.

There will be a private family graveside service at Philadelphus Presbyterian Church in Red Springs, NC, on Monday, August 18, 2025. Graveside flowers can be sent to Floyd Mortuary at 809 E. 5th Street, Lumberton, North Carolina 28358.

A Celebration of Life event will be held at Providence Baptist Church, 6339 Glenwood Avenue, Raleigh, North Carolina, 27612, on Wednesday, August 27, 2025, from 1:00 - 3:00pm. In lieu of flowers, donations in Betty Ann Dorman’s name may be sent to Samaritan's Purse International Relief, Doctors without Borders, or Urban Ministries of Wake County - Open Door Clinic, by using the links below, under 'Donations'.

If you would like to leave a favorite memory / story of Betty, or a message of condolence for her family, you may do so below, within 'Add a Memory'.