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- Betty Ruth Larkins Bamberg passed away on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018. She is survived by her three children Tim, Barrie and Bob "Widge" (Ruth), one grandson Ed (Dawn) and two great grandchildren Cana Rose (Alex Davidson) and Noah Robert. Born Sept. 19, 1920, to Dora "Larkie" Alice Dantzler and Norman "Big" Holmes Larkins in Clinton, N.C., she is preceded in death by her husband Joe and her five siblings, Norman Jr. (Maggie Lou), Dantzler (Erline), Herbert (Ola), Doralita (Charles Petty), and Dorothy (Richard Stroud).
She attended Peace College and Bob Jones University, where she graduated with a degree in English and took advantage of free piano and organ lessons while there.
She worked in Fayetteville N.C. at Fort Bragg as a clerk in a law office. While waiting in a car and reading "Gone with the Wind," Betty met her future husband Joe when he stopped by to ask her to play for a local revival where he was the music director.
They were married on Aug. 27, 1943, just two weeks after friends Billy and Ruth Graham were also wed. They then moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where Joe attended seminary.
While Joe was in the chaplaincy in Hawaii, Betty was active in playing the organ for chapel, singing in a trio and making new friends. They moved to Milton, Florida, in 1947, when Joe was called to pastor First Baptist Church.
Active both in and outside the church, she was a candy striper at the local hospital and active in the Shakespeare and Garden club. She played the organ at church services, and piano for choir practice, taught Sunday school, was president of the Woman's Missionary Union, and sang and directed various ladies' musical groups.
Betty was a home cook, famous for never serving store-bought bread at the dinner table. It was not uncommon for church visitors to be invited to join the family for Sunday dinner. Her children became good cooks by observation of her in the kitchen.
She sewed clothes for herself and all the kids and made knock-off dresses for Barrie after visiting the local dress shop and making sketches. She made Halloween costumes for all of her kids.
As a typist of over 100 words-per-minute, she often banged out Widge's hand-written school papers.
She enjoyed life and everything she did was undertaken with a sense of purpose.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, at the main sanctuary of First Baptist Church, Milton FL. Visitation begins at 2 p.m. and the service at 4 p.m.
Trahan Family Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.
To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
Published in Santa Rosa Press Gazette from Oct. 23 to Nov. 22, 2018.
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1920 - 2018 (98 years)
, d. 3 Jul 1962, Clinton, Sampson, North Carolina, United States