Betty Ruth Cunningham Sally

Raleigh - Betty Ruth Cunningham Sally went home to her Savior on May 28, 2015, at the age of 85. She was born December 28, 1929, in Durham, NC, the only daughter of James and Ruth Cunningham. She attended Reynolds High School, graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Duke University, and remained a life-long Duke fanatic. Betty Ruth was married for 55 years to her high school sweetheart John Lea Sally, Jr. until his passing on August 6, 2007. Her early years were spent raising four children and she considered homemaking a high and noble calling.  She attended Bible Study Fellowship for many years and then served on the leadership team in the children’s program until she stepped down to care for her parents.  She was instrumental in starting the first Community Bible Study in Swansboro, NC, her beloved second home. In their retirement years, she and John served as the first drivers/hosts for the N.C. Baptist Men’s medical/dental bus. Her unique gifting from God was her sweet, gentle spirit and her tireless, humble service to others. She was a woman of prayer and devotion to God. She was a devoted wife, a loving mother and a faithful friend to so many.  She will be greatly missed. Because of her dementia, Betty was unable to maintain relationships with her many friends during her extended illness, and the family hopes you realize how important you were to her and how much she enjoyed your company throughout her life. We would like to especially thank the staff at Rosewood for providing a very loving, comfortable and safe place for her to live for more than four years, to Transitions LifeCare for their gracious hospice care, and to Laura Laraia and Cindy Jones for their excellent and compassionate care of our mother. She is pre-deceased by husband, John Lea Sally, Jr. and her parents, James Edwin Cunningham and Ruth Lewis Hobgood. She is survived by her children John Sally, III (Stephanie), Linda Sally Coats (Ronnie), Jim Sally, RuthAnn Sally Marenyi; grandchildren Grayson (Mace) Sally, Palmer Sally, Burt (Sara) Coats, Christopher Coats, Katelyn Sally, William Sally, Matthew Marenyi, Tyler Marenyi, Samantha Marenyi; great-grandson Hayes Coats. A funeral service will be held 3:00pm Monday, June 1, 2015 at Bryan Lee Funeral Home, 831 Wake Forest Road, Raleigh. Visitation will be held immediately following the service. The family will have a burial service at 10:00AM Tuesday in Maplewood Cemetery, Durham. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the N.C. Baptist Men’s Association, P.O. Box 1107, Cary, N.C. 27512 or the First Baptist Church of Swansboro, 614 W. Corbett Ave., Swansboro, N.C. 28584 or to the Dementia Society of America,  P.O. box 600, Doylestown, PA 18901.