Betty Jenkins

1939 - 2025

Betty Greene Jenkins died on Sunday, September 21. Betty was born in Boone, N.C., October 8, 1939. Her parents were Floyd Everett Greene and Almeta Norris Greene. Both the Greene and the Norris families had lived in Watauga County for about 150 years.

When she was seven, Betty's family moved to Guilford County, and she attended the Guilford school near Guilford College from the second grade until she graduated as Chief Marshall of her class in 1957.

Then Betty attended Wake Forest University for two years. After transferring to the Women's College of UNC, she earned a B.A. in Biology. After college, she trained at Moses Cone hospital to become a cytotechnologist. After just a few years, she became chief cytotech at Moses Cone.

Along the way, Betty married Eddie Flinchum, who had also grown up in the Jessup Grove Baptist Church. They had three children: Mark, Scott, and Jan. They lived first in Gibsonville, where Eddie taught and coached basketball, and Betty continued to work in cytology. They moved to Greensboro when Eddie transferred to the new Western Guilford High School. Mark, Scott, and Jan all graduated from Western Guilford.

In 1981 Betty joined the faculty of Elon College to create and teach in a program training cytotechs. Betty returned to UNCG to write and study poetry. She published several poems in literary journals and earned a masters degree in creative writing. She moved from teaching in the medical field to teaching composition and literature, first at Alamance Community College, and then at UNCG and Greensboro College.

After their children were grown, Eddie and Betty divorced. In 1986, Betty married Brad Jenkins, head of the history and political science department at GTCC.

Brad and Betty lived in Greensboro but spent most weekends hiking in the mountains Betty had loved since childhood. In 1994, they built a home on a small farm between Sparta and Jefferson. The new home included a pottery studio. There, Betty began another career making cups, bowls, pots, and pitchers by the hundreds. Betty's pottery, like her poetry, reflected her sturdy grace, honesty, and love.

Brad had one child, Michele, who had married James Michael Loar. Betty became a grandmother to Mike and Michele's children, lan and Annie. The Loar's enjoyment of Brad and Betty's mountain place was shared by Betty's son, Mark Flinchum and his wife Gwen, who added two more grandchildren, Dane and Coner, to Betty's flock. The flock grew larger when Betty's daughter, Jan, married Mark Dukes. The Dukes eventually brought grandson Max and two granddaughters, Eden and Milly, to join in hiking, horseback riding, fishing and swimming in the trout pond, hunting crawdads and mudpuppies in the brook, and sledding down the mountainside in the winter.

As the years passed, the mountain winters seemed to grow longer so Brad and Betty bought an RV and began traveling to warmer climates. Eventually, they bought a home in Venice, Florida, where Jan and her family were living.

After five years as snowbirds, in 2013, they moved to Venice year-round. They joined the Unitarian church there and became very active, making many new friends. In 2018, as Betty's health began to decline, they decided to return to Greensboro to live in Friends Homes and be near their many kinfolks and friends in this area. In addition to her husband, Brad Jenkins, four children, seven grandchildren, and at last count, seven great-grandchildren, Betty leaves two brothers, Raymond and Roger Greene, their wives, children, grandchildren and a sister, Judy Greene and her daughter, Ellen Bailey. There are at least twenty nieces, nephews, and their children.

There will be a celebration of Betty's life on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4 PM at New Garden Friends Meeting at 801 New Garden Road, Greensboro. In lieu of flowers, donations to Employees Appreciation, Friends Homes, 925 New Garden Road, Greensboro, N.C. 27410 would be appreciated.