ROCKY MOUNT – Betty Jean Gilliland Woodruff, 90, of Rocky Mount, NC, and Apex, NC, passed away on Tuesday, February 8, 2022. She was born on October 17, 1931, in Nash County, NC, the youngest daughter of her late parents, Margaret (Maggie) Culpepper Gilliland and Archie Vann Gilliland. She was preceded in death by her husband, Donald Ray Woodruff; and her sisters, Lottie Bragg and Wilma Hataway.

She was a 1950 graduate of Benvenue High School and earned her BA in Mathematics from Flora MacDonald College in Red Springs, NC. After graduation, she taught high school math and coached girls’ basketball, first at Dabney High School in Henderson and then at Benvenue High School in Rocky Mount ending her full-time teaching career in the first year of operation at Northern Nash High School. She left teaching to raise her family and work alongside her husband on the tobacco farm, but she continued to substitute teach for many years. The relationships formed with her students were a source of great joy for her, and she delighted in being invited to reunions of various classes through the years. She was a lifelong member of Bethlehem Presbyterian Church where she served as an elder, member and chair of various committees, and was heavily involved in Presbyterian Women being awarded Honorary Life Membership in 2003.

Betty is survived by her daughters, Lisa Woodruff Roberds and her husband, Mike, and their children, Anna and James; and Donna Woodruff Harding and her husband, Roger, and their child, Steven, all of Apex.

A Funeral Service to celebrate Betty’s life will be held on Friday, February 18, 2022 at 2:00 PM in the Chapel of Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Burial will follow the service at Rocky Mount Memorial Park. Visitation with the family will be from 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM prior to the service in the Atrium of Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home.

The family would like to thank the caregivers at Brookdale MacArthur Park, Avendelle Assisted Living at Shepherds Vineyard, and Transitions Life Care for their attention and kindness.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Betty’s memory to Bethlehem Presbyterian Church, 1460 Bethlehem Rd, Rocky Mount, NC 27803.

Arrangements entrusted to Wheeler & Woodlief Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 1130 N. Winstead Avenue, Rocky Mount, NC 27804. You may share memories and condolences with the family by visiting www.wheelerwoodlief.com.