Bessie Smith Young

She was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina on June 1, 1945. Betsy grew up in Raeford, North Carolina and lived there until her late teens when she came to the Ashland/Doswell area of Virginia. She got a job at a small diner and this is where she met Ivan Elliot Young, Jr. and they were married March 31, 1963.

Over the years Betsy worked for Ramada Inn, Kings Dominion (receiving), Speed n Briscoe (fuel desk and then bookkeeping) and then The Truck Stops of America where she was employed for 26 years. She started as a fuel cashier and was promoted into the accounting department where she was a Site Accounting Representative until her retirement in 2019.

She was an avid reader and was happiest at home reading a book. This was evident by her book collection and her favorite author was Diana Palmer. In her younger years she enjoyed dancing and would dance over the last couple of months in her wheelchair when she heard a song she liked. Betsy was accepting of all people and this is why all the neighborhood kids gathered at their house when their children were growing up.

Betsy is survived by a daughter Rhonda Hancock of Tulsa, Oklahoma; a son Guy Young (Lisa) of Raeford, North Carolina; a brother Lonnie (John) Smith Jr. (Debbie) of Raeford, North Caroline; a sister Anita (Bugs) Gibson of Raeford, North Carolina; a brother-in-law J.K. Young of Taylorville, Illinois; and a sister-in-law Kathy Young Byers (Billy) of Bumpass, Virginia. She has 6 grandchildren, 13 great grandchildren, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 59 years Ivan Elliot Young, Jr.; her parents Lonnie and Orean Smith; a brother James Smith, and a brother David Smith.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Service at Riverside Baptist Church, 20057 Teman Rd, Beaverdam, Virginia, 23015 on Saturday, July 30, 2022 at 11:30 a.m. with a burial of Ivan and Betsy to follow in the church cemetery.