WILMINGTON — Betty Mae Anderson Dell, 94, of the Davis Community in Wilmington, NC passed away peacefully on February 25, 2024, surrounded by her children. A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, she will be deeply missed by the family she stood by for more than 70 years.
Betty came into the world on January 14, 1930 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, the second of seven children born to Robert and Anna Anderson. Betty grew up in financially-distressed coal country, in the aftermath of the Great Depression. Times were hard and economic hardship was everywhere. Betty learned early on the value of hard work and conservative money management.
She attended Saxton Liberty High School in Saxton, PA. During those years, she worked as a waitress to support herself and participated in many extracurricular activities. She met William (Bill) Dell, her future husband, after he returned from active duty in World War II. They were married on September 20, 1947 after Betty graduated from high school. For the next five decades, Betty and Bill would raise their family, settling down in Alexandria, Virginia – Bill as a mechanic for United Airlines and Betty as an Elementary School Teacher’s Assistant for Fairfax County. Betty loved children and they loved her. Although Betty and Bill never had the opportunity to attend college, they valued higher education. All three of their children graduated debt-free from major, national universities.
Betty was multi-talented and skilled at every aspect of operating and maintaining a household. Her baking and seamstress skills were second to none. Friends and family still tell stories about Betty’s delicious, made-from-scratch, breads and pastries. In retirement, she took great pride in making dresses and clothing for children in economically devastated Caribbean communities, like Haiti.
After retirement in 1990, Betty and Bill located to Myrtle Beach, SC where they renovated and rebuilt a home a few blocks off the ocean. Sadly, Betty would lose her husband and partner of 48 years in 1995. But Betty was fiercely independent and in excellent physical condition owing to a lifestyle of smart nutrition and consistent exercise. She maintained, cleaned, and lived independently in the home that she and Bill had rebuilt and renovated for 24 more years. In December 2019, a month shy of 90, Betty relocated to the Davis Community of Porters Neck in Wilmington, NC. For the next four years, she would thrive at the Davis Community making many friends among both the residents and the staff.
Betty was predeceased by her parents, her husband Bill Dell, and five of her six siblings: Doug (who died in early childhood), Robert, Earlamond, Phyllis, and Alice Lou. Betty is survived by younger sister Patricia, her children Pamela Dell Leahy, Michael Dell and Stephen Dell, and three grandchildren, Jennifer Leahy-Morrison, Thomas Leahy, and Victoria Dell.
