Betty Jane Smith

Betty Jane Spiker Smith, 94, of Bruceton Mills, WV passed away April 16, 2026 surrounded by her family. A daughter of the late Robert Lauren Spiker and Nellie Feather Spiker, she was born November 7, 1931.

Betty married Roy D. Smith on November 17, 1949. They celebrated 69 years of marriage months before his passing on April 29, 2019. Their marriage was a beautiful example for their daughters and grandchildren to follow.

Betty exhibited the spirit of a Christian in many ways, but most often it was by feeding people, whether it was family, friends, or neighbors. You couldn’t enter her home without having something to eat. She almost always had homemade goodies and ice cream ready for anyone who stopped by. If she got word of a need for a meal or heard someone liked something she had made, you can bet she was going to make it for them immediately. She loved to garden or “play in the dirt,” as she said. She always told people “I just love to see things grow,” whether it was fruits and vegetables or flowers and plants. The harvest was a labor of love she looked forward to sharing with neighbors and friends.

Betty was also a beautiful quilter. There was rarely a time that she didn’t have a quilt in the frames in her family room. She would quilt for most anyone who would ask her to. Every daughter, grandchild, and great grandchild received a quilt made with love by her. As she quilted she enjoyed watching the birds at the feeder just outside the window. The cardinal especially made her smile as it reminded her of her love, Roy D.

Betty was a member of the Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene where she taught Sunday School for many years and filled various other roles. When she could no longer attend church she would ask every Sunday afternoon,“How many were at church today?” She loved to see the pews in the church filled with people. She didn’t always speak directly of her love for Jesus, but she showed it with her actions. Even in her last days, when she didn’t have the strength or energy to do much of anything else she always picked up her devotional books, morning and night, and read God’s word. Her prayer was for everyone in her family to meet her in heaven; she couldn’t bare the thought of not seeing them there. She loved her family dearly, as they did her.

She is survived by her three daughters, Bonnie (Charles) Lemley, Billie (Clifford) Stemple, and Becky (Gary) Benson all of Bruceton Mills, WV; Four grandchildren, Tara (Chris) Harsh of Bruceton Mills, WV, Ryan (Carly) Lemley of Morgantown WV, Rachelle (Joshua) Belokur of Lima, NY, and Scot (Nicole) Benson of Morgantown, WV; sixteen great-grandchildren, Logan, Carson and Henry Harsh of Bruceton Mills, WV, Rylee and Camden Lemley of Morgantown, WV, Lillian (Anthony) Muscatella, Levi (Maddy) Belokur, Josiah, Matthias, John, Luke, Damian and Cosmas Belokur of Lima, NY, Jude, Noah and Luke Benson of Morgantown, WV; One great-great grandchild Louis Muscatella of Lima, NY. She also had an “adopted” granddaughter and family, Mishel (Shawn) Heaney, Gavin, Landon, and Easton of Bruceton Mills, WV.

Betty donated her body to the WVU Human Gift Registry.

The family would like to thank Amedisys Hospice Care and all of their staff for their loving care of Betty. Also thanks to Alysia Funk of Mountain Laurel Medical Center for all of your care and support.

A Celebration of Life will be held May 9, 2026. Friends and family will be received at 10:00 AM until the service at 11:00 AM. Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene, 3767 Little Sandy Rd, Bruceton Mills, WV 26525 with Chaplain Craig Falkenstine officiating.

In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in her memory to Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene Building Fund.