Betty Blankenship Gilbert,89, died April 30, 2020 at Franke at Seaside Skilled Nursing Facility, Mt. Pleasant,SC.
She was born September 7, 1930 in Richwood(Nicholas County), West Virginia, the middle child of James G. and Beatrice Genevieve (Dodrill Blankenship.
Betty graduated from Nicholas County High School, Class of 1946. Following graduation, she attended and graduated with an AB in education from Fairmont State College. After graduation she was Vice- Principal at Bladensburg (MD) High School. In 1953, she married James Eastham Gilbert at the United States Navy Chapel in Washington, DC settling in the Washington DC area until 1964 when they moved to Hingham, MA where she earned a master's in education from Northeastern University in school administration. She later moved to Fort Wayne, IN and Pittsburg, KS where she was a high school librarian. In 1986 she and her husband of 66 years moved to East Stroudsburg, PA before retiring to Mt. Pleasant, SC in 1996.
Betty was a selfless individual always giving of herself. Among her favorite organizations to volunteer for were East Cooper Community Outreach (ECCO), Mount Pleasant Presbyterian Church, the Salvation Army, and The United Way.
In addition to her parents, she is predeceased by her brother Vaughan Blankenship.
Surviving in addition to her husband James Eastham Gilbert of Mt. Pleasant, SC, are her sister Emogene (Blankenship) Georgiades and brother-in-law Richard Georgiades of Sarasota, FL; her son Gregory Eastham
Gilbert; daughter-in-law Sharon (McFadden) Gilbert; grandson Geoffrey Eastham Gilbert, all of Charleston, SC.
A service of remembrance will be held at a later date at the Rodenberg Chapel, Franke at Seaside, 1885 Rifle Range Rd, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.
Those who wish to remember Betty in a special way may make gifts in lieu of flowers in her memory to the Dr. James E. & Mrs. Betty B. Gilbert Endowed Scholarship, East Stroudsburg University, 200 Prospect Street, East Stroudsburg, PA. 18301
Expressions of sympathy and online condolences may be viewed or shared online at www.mcalister-smith.com.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to McALISTER-SMITH FUNERAL & CREMATION, Mt. Pleasant, 1520 Rifle Range Rd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464, (843) 884-3833.