Betty Dyke Vansant

Betty Dyke Vansant, loving widow of Dr. John Herndon Vansant, Sr., died peacefully in her sleep on May 17, 2016 in her home at Westminster Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay. 

Betty was born in 1930 to the late Louise Moore Dyke and John McCauley Dyke of Newport News, VA. She was raised on the banks of the James River and graduated from Newport News High School before attending Mary Washington College. She went on to graduate from the University of Virginia School of Nursing and worked as a Chief Nurse on several wards at the U. Va. Hospital.  

She married John Vansant, a young medical student, in 1951, living in Charlottesville, Nagoya, Boston, and Long Island as he completed his surgical training and served in the USAF. Not long after their son arrived in 1959, they returned to Virginia, ultimately settling in Norfolk in 1964, where they were active in professional, philanthropic, and social communities for thirty years.

Together, they enjoyed travel with friends most of all.  They were fortunate to be able to explore much of the globe, visiting every inhabited continent and most of the lands and peoples thereon. 

Betty and John built a new home on Leatherbury Creek, near Onancock, in the 1980's, moving there full-time upon John's retirement. When Alzheimer's intruded on the comfortable life they had established, Betty was called to reprise her role as nurse, heroically managing her dear husband's care over the ensuing ten years.  Betty returned to Southside in 2006, moving into Westminster Canterbury, where she received loving support and enjoyed a view back over Hampton Roads to the Peninsula and the Shore.

Betty was a devoted wife and mother, sister and friend, and was active in many charitable organizations, including the Junior League of Virginia Beach and Norfolk, the Garden Club of Eastern Shore, the Eastern Shore of Virginia Historical Society and the Riverside Shore Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.  She was a founding member of Lee’s Friends, and remained a loyal supporter throughout her life.  She held a deep and abiding faith and worshipped at Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Onancock.

Betty is survived by her devoted son, John H. Vansant, Jr. and his wife, Catherine Ashman Vansant; and grandchildren Emilie Claire Vansant and John Henry Vansant, all of Hanover, NH.  She is also survived by her loving sister, Evelyn Dyke Russell, brother-in-law, Dr. Eugene Fairchild Russell, III, and nephew, Eugene Fairchild Russell IV, of Greensboro, NC.

A service celebrating Betty’s life will be held at the Chapel at Westminster Canterbury on Thursday, May 26, 2016 at 3pm, with reception following in The Commons.  The Reverend Canon Win Lewis will officiate. Interment will be private in the Edgehill Cemetery, Accomac, VA.

Memorial contributions may be made to Lee’s Friends, www.leesfriends.org; or to the WC Foundation - Fellowship Fund, 3100 Shore Drive, Virginia Beach, VA 23451.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.