Betty Jane Spiker Smith, 94, of Bruceton Mills, passed away Thursday, April 16, 2026, surrounded by her family. A daughter of the late Robert Loran Spiker and Nellie Feather Spiker, she was born November 7, 1931.
Betty married Roy D. Smith November 17, 1949. They celebrated 69 years of marriage months before his passing April 29, 2019. Their marriage was a beautiful example for their daughters and grandchildren to follow.
Betty exhibited the spirit of a Christian in many ways, but most often it was by feeding people, whether it was family, friends, or neighbors. You couldn’t enter her home without having something to eat. She almost always had homemade goodies and ice cream ready for anyone who stopped by. If she got word of a need for a meal or heard someone liked something she had made, you can bet she was going to make it for them immediately. She loved to garden or “play in the dirt,” as she said. She always told people, “I just love to see things grow,” whether it was fruits and vegetables or flowers and plants. The harvest was a labor of love she looked forward to sharing with neighbors and friends.
Betty was also a beautiful quilter. There was rarely a time that she didn’t have a quilt in the frames in her family room. She would quilt for most anyone who would ask her to. Every daughter, grandchild, and great grandchild received a quilt made with love by her. As she quilted, she enjoyed watching the birds at the feeder just outside the window. The cardinal specially made her smile as it reminded her of her love, Roy D.
Betty was a member of the Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene, where she taught Sunday school for many years and filled various other roles. When she could no longer attend church she would ask every Sunday afternoon, “How many were at church today?”. She loved to see the pews in the church filled with people. She didn’t always speak directly of her love for Jesus, but she showed it with her actions. Even in her last days, when she didn’t have the strength or energy to do much of anything else she always picked up her devotional books, morning and night, and read God’s word. Her prayer was for everyone in her family to meet her in heaven; she couldn’t bare the thought of not seeing them there. She loved her family dearly, as they did her.
She is survived by her three daughters, Bonnie (Charles) Lemley, Billie (Clifford) Stemple, and Becky (Gary) Benson, all of Bruceton Mills; four grandchildren, Tara (Chris) Harsh of Bruceton Mills, Ryan (Carly) Lemley of Morgantown, Rachelle (Joshua) Belokur of Lima, N.Y., and Scot (Nicole) Benson of Morgantown; 16 great- grandchildren, Logan, Carson and Henry Harsh of Bruceton Mills, Rylee and Camden Lemley of Morgantown, Lillian (Anthony) Muscatella, Levi (Maddy) Belokur, Josiah, Matthias, John, Luke, Damian and Cosmas Belokur of Lima, Jude, Noah and Luke Benson of Morgantown; and one great-great-grandchild, Louis Muscatella of Lima. She also had an “adopted” granddaughter and family, Mishel (Shawn) Heaney, Gavin, Landon, and Easton of Bruceton Mills.
Betty donated her body to the WVU Human Gift Registry.
The family would like to thank Amedisys Hospice Care and all its staff for their loving care of Betty. Also, thanks to Alysia Funk of Mountain Laurel Medical Center for all her care and support.
A Celebration of Life will be held May 9. Friends and family will be received from 10 until the service at 11 a.m. in Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene, 3767 Little Sandy Road, Bruceton Mills, WV 26525, with Chaplain Craig Falkenstine officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made, in her memory, to Little Sandy Church of the Nazarene Building Fund.
Carl R. Spear Funeral Home of Brandonville- Bruceton Mills is assisting the family with arrangements.
