Betty Marie Baitler

Betty Marie (Gray) Baitler, 83, of Ridgeley, WV, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

Born in Wiley Ford, WV on September 19, 1938, Betty was the daughter of the late Samuel Luther Gray and Dorothy Marie (Williams) McGann. She was preceded in death by her first husband, William T. Rice, and her second husband of 35 years, Alan Baitler. She was also preceded in death by her infant son William Thomas Rice, Jr., her beloved grandson, Aaron Lehman, and her sister, Shirley McCullough (Gray) and brother-in-law James.

Betty graduated from Ridgeley High School and eventually relocated to the DC Metropolitan Area in the late 1960s. She was the Property Manager for multiple apartment complexes over 30 years, before retiring to Suffolk, Virginia with her husband, Alan. After his death in 2005, Betty returned to her roots in West Virginia to be closer to her siblings. She loved being back in the area where she grew up.

Betty enjoyed cooking, boating, eating crabs and oysters, entertaining, and decorating. She had a talent for creating beautiful wreaths and centerpieces. Betty also loved playing poker and other card games with her grandchildren. Her favorite place to go during her boating years was Cobb Island, MD. She and her husband, Alan, spent many years boating on the Potomac with friends and family and enjoyed the local seafood. If there was a crab feast nearby, Betty would find it. She carried her homemade jar of extra spicy crab seasoning and crab mallet in her purse just in case. She loved watching the rain fall from the back porch of her West Virginia home and enjoyed the frequent snowfalls during the winter months. Betty was an avid animal lover. She enjoyed feeding deer, squirrels, birds, stray cats, and any other animal that was fortunate enough to cross her path. She left behind her beloved African Grey bird, Clark Gable, who was with her for over 26 years.

Betty is survived by three daughters; Beverly Centini (Rice) and husband, Randy; Brenda Kalashian (Rice); Babette Farrell (Rice) and husband Hubie. She is also survived by one brother, William Gray and wife Joyce, two sisters; Sonya Baker and husband Mitch; Sandra Adolph and husband Wayne, her grandchildren; Christian Lehman, Sarah Bennett (Centini), James Centini, , Harry Kalashian IV and wife Kaitlin, Nicholas Kalashian, Sam Kalashian, Jason Kalashian, Kevin Mawyer II, Melissa Mawyer, Christopher Farrell (Aubri), and Marc Farrell (Krysten). She is also survived by her great-grandchildren; Ariande Kalashian, Layni Farrell, Camden Farrell, and Teagan Farrell and many close cousins, nieces and nephews.

There will be no services by Betty’s request. Her wish was to have her cremated remains privately scattered with her husband, Alan’s, onto their favorite places. In Lieu of flowers, Betty requested her friends and family donate to their local Humane Society, Animal Rescue or other Animal Shelter.

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