Emma Elizabeth “Betty” Wilson Coyne, 82, was called to Heaven on Jan. 27, 2015, surrounded by her loving and devoted family.
She was very much loved and will be greatly missed by family and friends.
On April 3, 1932, Emma Elizabeth Wilson was born in rural Virginia, in her childhood home, the historically and architecturally famous Mount Prodigal. She was named after both of her grandmothers. Betty was the third of five girls. Her parents, Clemmie (Dutton) and Hubert Wilson were tenant farmers. Betty’s family lived in one room of Mount Prodigal because it was so big. When asked about her best childhood memory she answered, “Where I was born there was quite a large section of woods and I can remember roaming through the woods, in the summer particularly, and picking huckleberries and getting bitten by chiggers. But those were happy days.”
The school she went to until fourth grade was a one-room school called St. Martin’s School. She graduated high school in 1949, second in her class, making her Salutatorian. She was featured on the front page of her school newspaper. With her shorthand and typing skills Betty moved to Baltimore right after graduation to start her career.
In 1958, Betty married Richard W. Coyne Sr. and they had four children. They raised their family in New York. Eventually, Betty moved to Minneapolis, Minn., where she spent the last 23 years of her life enjoying the company of her three daughters and grandchildren. Her son resides in Gloucester. Amazingly, Betty worked full-time as a secretary until two years ago when she finally retired.
Throughout her whole life people have described Betty as a sweet, kind and elegant person. She had a quiet gentleness about her and everyone loved her. She spent her free time with her adoring family, beloved pets, gardening and reading.
Preceded into eternal rest by parents, Hubert and Clemmie (Dutton) Wilson; sisters, Janice Mills and Josephine Horsley; former husband, Richard W. Coyne.
Leaving behind sisters, Anne Vance and Brenda Faye Tevis; devoted children, Genevieve M. Coyne, Patricia Dunn (Dayton), Elizabeth Coyne (Jeff Meyer) and Richard Coyne Jr. (Cathy); loving grandchildren, Sha-sun Nashida “Bradley,” Genevieve and Emma Burt (Blake Ryan); precious kitty, Rosie; many other relatives and friends.
A beautiful memorial service was held in Minneapolis at the Cremation Society of Minnesota on Feb. 7, 2015. The chapel was filled with so many flowers and there was an outpouring of kind words, prayers and love.