Elizabeth "Betty" Atkins

Elizabeth "Betty" Atkins, 94, died at home on Sunday, October 8, 2017. Her last evening was filled with family, making Halloween cookies, and talking around the kitchen table. 

A private memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 28, 2017.

Betty was born in Louisville, Kentucky to the late Alice W. Genung and Morris Genung, grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, and after marriage raised her family in Danville, Virginia. She lived her last years in Eden, NC. 

In Memphis, Betty lived with multiple generations during the Great Depression years, often accompanied her grandfather on his sales trips, and when older listened to blues music on Beale Street. One of her first jobs was delivering bank papers to the riverboat captains at the docks on the Mississippi River.

She had a way about her. Across the years and homes, her kitchen table was filled with neighbors’ teenagers, friends, crossword puzzles, and a coffee cup. In the afternoons, it would be Betty’s front porch on Virginia Avenue where neighborhood life was discussed over a glass of wine. Everyone was always welcomed.

Betty was an active volunteer, fundraising for the Red Cross, and the United Way, and later assisting at The Free Clinic of Danville. She also worked at the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, and was a member of Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church.

Betty’s survived by her five children: Scott (Velma), Sarah (Derrell) Mark, Laura (Neil), and Clay (Betty), along with her six grandchildren: Kyle, Andrew (Baylee), Hank (Nealy), Amelia (Kyle), Clay (Brittany) and Lydia (Martin); and four great-grand children: Walker, Libby Tate, Robin, and Hampton.  

Betty also leaves behind her dearest friends Ruth, Wanda, Ellen (and the Street Ladies), Mary Ellen, and Laylor as well as Gussie, her last cat.