Betty Jean Spurlock Shearin

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die.”(Ecclesiastes 3) On November 7, 1931, Betty Jean Spurlock was born in Salem, Virginia, to the late Thomas Shirley and Willie Ann (Borden) Spurlock. One can only imagine that there was much joy when she came into this world. “Now we look forward with confidence to our heavenly bodies, realizing that every moment we spend in these earthly bodies is time spent away from our eternal home in heaven with Jesus. . . And we are not afraid, but are quite content to die, for then we will be at home with the Lord”. (2 Corinthians 5:6, 8) Not afraid of death, but confident in her faith and in her family, at 83 years old, on Sunday night, May 31, 2015, Betty died. In the poem, “The Dash”, it’s not the date you’re born nor the date you die that matter, but the “dash” between them. So it is with “Mom Shearin” as she was fondly called in her later years. Her life mattered. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia State University, one of two in her family of 16 to have a college degree. In 1954, degree in hand, she moved to Durham, NC., where she worked as a secretary at North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance. She spent the evenings sitting on the porch enjoying the night air while awaiting a suitor. One evening in 1956, her suitor did not show, but someone new did. It was there while sitting on a porch that she met her husband to be, Alexander Moore Shearin, Jr. (“Xan”). The porch on which she sat was at the home of Xan’s Aunt Mag where she roomed. It was there on his weekly visit to see his Aunt Mag that Betty caught his eye. With a no-show date one evening, Xan stepped in and took her out. Six months later they were married. Xan served in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Fort Jackson, SC, which led them to call Columbia, South Carolina, their home. To their union came one daughter, Victoria Louise Shearin Lawson. Betty lost her beloved Xan in 1994. Betty was an administrator, educational association administrator, mother, friend, and a woman of faith. Born into a Baptist family, she attended Shiloh Baptist Church in Salem, Virginia, from birth until her move to Durham. In North Carolina, while rooming at the YWCA her first year, she was invited by her roommate to come to church at St. Titus Episcopal. She enjoyed the service and soon joined. It was there she and Xan married in 1957. Once in Columbia, she later joined St. Luke’s Episcopal Church where she was very active with Daughters of the King, the Altar Guild, the Finance Commission, Episcopal Church Women, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Quilters and Crafters Guild; and St. Luke’s Episcopal Free Lunch Ministry. In addition, she became a member of the staff at Benedict College, Columbia, South Carolina (1957-1994), and for one year (1984-1985) served as acting president of the College. In addition, she served as vice president of administration (1986-1988), special assistant to the vice president of business affairs (1988-1990), consultant (1990-1994); and she served as the volunteer coordinator for the Richland County Library, Columbia, South Carolina (1991-1995). She held membership in the Democratic Party and the Association of Records Managers and Administrators, where she also served as board secretary (1983-1985). Work was not the only activity for Betty, through the years she loved playing bridge with the ladies of Les Tallyettes, reading, exercising, dancing, photography, quilting, scrapbooking, and traveling. She often shared books, quilt ideas, and scrapbooks from her travels with visitors and friends. Betty Jean, as her daughter affectionately called her, was a woman where everything she did was formed by her passion, faith, and family. She was an authentic and honest person always seeking to help others. She was a friend, confidant, a rock within her family, and a life guide coach. She was a daughter, wife, mother, and friend. And though she will be missed, her influence, teachings, and friendship will live on forever. “A woman who walks with God will always reach her destination” as a poem states; and, Betty has done just that. Thanks be to God! Rejoicing in her memory, but mourning at their loss, are her daughter, Victoria (James); a brother, Kelly Spurlock; her sisters, Lois S. Hopson and Grace M. Hopson; a sister-in-law, Margaret Spurlock; a brother-in-law, Clinton A. Shearin, Sr.; nieces: Shirley Brown Garner (Harold “Deke”), Danise Brown Greene; Valerie Wilson Wesley (Richard); Patricia Wilson Pheanious (Robert), Karla Spurlock-Evans (Booker), Joyce Hopson King; Sharon K. Spurlock; Angela L. Hopson (Jerry); and Marsha K. Shearin (Purusa); nephews: Carl Spurlock (Beverly), George Spurlock, Jr. (Coleen), Bernard B. Spurlock Jr. (Carmen), Kevin Hopson (Deborah), Robert Hopson (Cathy), Michael Hopson (Mary), Anthony Hopson (Fyane), Dwayne Spurlock (Conchita), Clinton “Chip” A. Shearin Jr. (Kristal); a host of other relatives and very dear friends. Preceding her in death is her beloved husband, Alexander “Xan” M. Shearin, Jr.; her brothers: Thomas L. Spurlock, Robert K. Spurlock, George N. Spurlock; Shirley Spurlock, Bernard B. Spurlock Sr., James C. Spurlock, Leonard G. Spurlock; her sisters: Lena S. Terry, Florence I. Spurlock; Mary S. Wilson, Louise Spurlock, and Helen S. Scarborough. Funeral Service will be held 12:00 PM Saturday, June 13, 2015 at St. Luke's Episcopal Church with burial to follow in Crescent Hill Memorial Gardens. A visitation will be held from 6:00 PM till 8:00 PM at Palmer Memorial Chapel

Betty Jean Spurlock Shearin

November 7, 1931 - May 31, 2015