Betty Barbee Vail

GARNER-Betty Jane Barbee Vail, 85, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 29, 2017, surrounded by her loving family. Betty was an honors graduate of Goldsboro High School and she maintained friendships with her classmates up to her death. After attending secretarial school, Betty worked for a local insurance company and eventually the Social Security Administration. She married Henry Edward Vail on October 16, 1953, and spent the majority of their 62 years together as a devoted wife and mother in Garner, NC. Betty attended New Bethel Baptist Church with her family, where she was very active in the Woman’s Missionary Union and other service roles. Most recently, Betty lived at Sunrise at North Hills, where she is remembered for her creativity, her smile, and her devotion to her teacup poodle, Honey. Her greatest joys in life were her walk with Jesus Christ and her roles as wife, mother, grandmother, and homemaker. Survivors include her four children and their spouses: Beverly Vail Jones and her husband Stan, of Wendell; Sandra Vail and her husband, Bill Baillargeon, of Eugene, OR; Karen Vail Riedell and her husband, Heyward, of Raleigh; and Henry Edward (“Hank”) Vail Jr. and his wife, Kerry, of Raleigh. She had ten grandchildren: Nathaniel Jones, Victoria Jones Radford (husband, Josh); Zoe and Jessey Baillargeon; David Riedell (wife, Jamie), Jonathan and Reuben Riedell; Alexandria, Anastasia, Andromeda Vail. Daughter of Romie Dalton Barbee and Lena Margaret Horner Barbee of Goldsboro, Betty is also survived by two sisters, Evelyn Measley of Kinston and Norma Marchand of Huntington Beach, CA, and one brother Romm Doulton and his wife, Elaine, of Las Vegas, NV. In addition to her parents, Betty was preceded in death by her husband, Henry Edward Vail Sr., and sister, Hilda Allen. The family will receive friends in celebration of Betty’s life at New Bethel Baptist Church, Garner, 1:30pm-3pm on Sunday, September 3, 2017. The funeral will commence immediately afterwards at 3pm. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to the National Kidney Foundation, 4701 Hedgemore Drive, Suite 810, Charlotte, NC 28209 or to the Baptist Children’s Home, P.O. Box 338, Thomasville, NC 27361.