Elizabeth Marie Lilly

Elizabeth Marie (Betty) Lilly, 83, of Athens passed into the arms of Jesus on Saturday, May 23, 2026.

Born October 5, 1942, at Anderson Ridge, Lick Creek WV. She was the daughter of the late Mark B. & Lucy Anderson Williams. She grew up in Athens and was a graduate of Athens High School, Class of 1960.

She was married to James T. (Jay) Lilly on June 28, 1960. She moved to his home in Wilmington, DE where they resided until they returned to Athens in 1967.

She was a devout Christian and a member of Brown’s Chapel Methodist Church. She was a bookkeeper and worked with Everett B. White, H.C. Arnold and finished her career with Fisher and Hodges, where she worked until the age of 80.

Betty was a kind and gentle spirit who worked hard and cared for others. She loved taking pictures of anything of beauty, sending cards for every occasion, watching the Hallmark channel, and spending time on Ocracoke Island with her cousin Judy Hash.

She was proceeded in death by her parents and her husband.

She is survived by her son James T. (Jimmy) Jr. and wife Cindy; one grandson Matthew who was the light of her life; sister Glenna Hazelwood; sisters in law Barbara Lilly, Mary Lamb, Marguerite Fleetwood, and a host of nieces and nephews. In the last months of her life, she had very special caregivers; Shatina (Tina) Martin, Kesha (Brandi) Brown, Nikki Brown, and Deborah Snider.

Funeral services to celebrate the life of Betty will be held at 2:00 P.M. on Sunday, May 31, 2026 in the Chapel of the Memorial Funeral Directory on Athens Road in Princeton with Pastor Melissa White officiating. Friends may visit with the family from 1:00 until the service time at the funeral home. Burial to follow at Athens Cemetery. Family and friends will serve as pallbearers.

Online condolences may be shared with family via www.memorialfd.com.

In lieu of flowers, gifts in memory of “Elizabeth Lilly” may be made to Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Charlotte, 1613 E. Morehead Street, Charlotte, NC 28207, or online at rmhclt.org/donate.

The Lilly family is being served by the Memorial Funeral Directory and Cremation Center on the Athens Road in Princeton.