Betty Jean Simmons Gardner

It is with great sadness that we share that Betty Simmons Gardner passed away on November 30, 2025. She is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 58 years, Joe Gardner, her son Allen, her daughter Paige, her three brothers, Buddy, Mack and Charles Simmons, and her sister, Fayla Beckham.

Betty is survived by her daughter, Teri Murphy (Frank), her son Paul Gardner (Leigh); and seven much loved grandchildren, Frank, Meredith, Duane, Michael, Rachael, Leah, and Evelyn, and 11 beautiful great-grandchildren, Claire, Olivia, Everly, Jack, John, Dylan, Wyatt, Charlotte, Quinn, Conor, and Eliza.

Betty was born to Albert and Lenora Simmons on August 27, 1930, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Always an overachiever, she graduated from high school in three years and was named valedictorian of her graduating class. Betty was a state track and field champion and played the lead in her senior class play, where she met the love of her life, her husband, Joe.

After they married, Joe's career took them all over the country. They lived in Louisiana (where Teri was born), Pennsylvania (where Allen was born), Texas, California, and Colorado (where Paige was born) before finally settling in McLean, Virginia, in 1962 (birthplace of their youngest, Paul).

Betty's spiritual and social life revolved around the McLean Baptist Church, where she was a long-time member. She and Joe were devout Christians who lived their faith quietly and humbly.

When her youngest entered school full time, Betty decided to try her hand at real estate. She got her license, joined a small firm, earned her broker's license, and eventually bought the business. Gardner Homes Realtors was born. Betty's business grew and after several successful years, Joe and his good friend, Norris Mitchell, decided to leave their jobs at McDonnell Douglas Aircraft and join Betty in the world of Northern Virginia real estate. It was with a handshake that they formed a partnership based on friendship, trust, and integrity and purchased their first small apartment building. Under the umbrella of their new company, Mitchell Gardner Apartments (MG Apartments), they acquired a variety of properties in the Northern Virginia area and beyond.

Betty and her husband, Joe, lived a blessed life, while also enduring profound personal losses. Through every tragedy and hardship, their faith remained their foundation and strength, carrying them with resilience and grace.

Betty never wavered from her Christian upbringing and firmly believed that to whom much is given, much is expected. She supported and contributed to many charities and organizations throughout her life. Betty helped fund a women's hospital in Indonesia, she regularly gave to projects under the Baptist World Alliance, she was a major contributor when her grandchildren's school needed a new science building as well as a new bus. She was often the first to step up when someone was in need, often anonymously. One of the charities closest to Betty's heart was World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to the world's most vulnerable children. The CEO of World Vision once honored Betty for being the longest, continuing donor in their history.

Betty enjoyed a rich and full life through her family and church, her business, her philanthropy and her friends, but nothing gave her greater joy than spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She and Joe (better known as Mommom and Poppy) were a constant presence at their grandchildren's many events. They were there for sports, plays, concerts, recitals, graduations, and all the rest of those big and small moments where children look for those special family members whose presence means the world to them.

Betty lived the last few years of her life at Brightview Senior Living in Great Falls, Virginia. Her days were filled with music, games, activities, gardening, movies, parties, and a variety of field trip adventures. Her family wishes to express their deepest gratitude for the incredible care and heartfelt compassion the Brightview staff and community showed her. Their kindness and professionalism were not only a gift to Betty, but to her family, who took great comfort in knowing she was always safe and in loving hands.

A Celebration of Life Service will be held at McLean Baptist Church, 1367 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, Virginia, on Saturday, December 13 at 11 a.m. A private interment will precede the service.

We will love and miss her forever, but we are at peace knowing she is with our Lord, where pain and suffering are no more.

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