Elizabeth Reaney (Hobbs) Dunlap

Elizabeth Ann Reaney (Hobbs) Dunlap died peacefully at home with family at hand on Friday, April 21, 2023 after a long and debilitating illness. She was a few weeks shy of reaching her 79th birthday. She was born on May 18, 1944 in St. Petersburg, Florida, the daughter of the late Leland Ernest and Rose Elizabeth (Siney) Reaney. She spent her earliest years living on the island of Pass-a-grille. She moved to Falls Church, Virginia as a young child and began grade school there. She graduated from Falls Church High School in 1962. Beth was a curious person and lifelong learner. She attended both the University of Mary Washington and Virginia Tech before earning her Bachelors of Arts degree from William & Mary in 1967. Around 1978, she earned a Masters Degree in Education from Old Dominion University. Later, she pursued further graduate coursework in Education at the University of Virginia. In retirement, she continued to enjoy learning for learning’s sake, taking college courses in subjects ranging from Art History to Geology. She began her career as a teacher in 1967 at Achilles Elementary School in Gloucester County, Virginia. She taught for Gloucester County Public Schools for 39 years. In the course of her career there, Beth taught at Abingdon Elementary School, Gloucester High School, and Page Middle School. Over the decades, she worked variously with students in 4th through 12th grades, first as an elementary school teacher, then as a high school reading specialist and English teacher, and lastly as a middle school alternative education teacher. In 1998, while teaching 6th-8th grade alternative education, she was honored by the Daily Press as a Teacher of the Year. She also worked in adult education, teaching night school to GED students. She helped many people learn to read, from children and adults to native and non-native English speakers, and positively affected their life trajectories as a skilled and caring teacher. She retired in 2006. Beth was a hard-working, independent, determined, single parent who was generous with her time and resources. Her children remember her staying long hours after school to support student activities like building Homecoming floats. She loved animals, volunteered at the Humane Society, and adopted many pets that she encountered there. In 2008, she married Hugh Renwick Dunlap. With him, she enjoyed watching the wildlife around their home. Together, they supported many land-preservation and environmental organizations. She instilled the love of the outdoors and of exploring in her children by taking them camping and canoeing. Beth appreciated these activities well into her retirement. Though she often presented herself as quiet and serious, more interested in reading than conversing, those who were close to her knew her to be bright, funny, quick-witted, easy to laugh, and to not be surprised when they saw her kick up her heels and dance to bluegrass. She is predeceased by her parents; her husband; her brothers Leland Ernest Reaney, Jr. and Paul Edward Reaney; her sisters-in-law Alicia Koppel Reaney and Chun Cha Reaney; and her son-in-law Garet Michael Anderson. She is survived by her three children, Charles Richard Moncure and his wife Susan Marie (Ruben) Moncure, Linda Ann (Moncure) Anderson and her partner John Allen LaFromboise, and Catherine Elizabeth Hobbs and her husband Carlton Blake Campbell; her three grandchildren, William Patrick Moncure, Katie Marie Moncure, and Annelise Reeve Campbell; her nephew James Reaney; and nieces Jennifer Reaney and Deborah (Reaney) Perkins. Always a teacher, she left a note, a quotation, among her personal items with a lesson to consider. It read, “’And be ye kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.’ Ephesians 4:32” A private celebration of life service will be held at a later date. The Vincent Funeral Home, West Point Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements.

Elizabeth Reaney (Hobbs) Dunlap

May 18, 1944 - April 21, 2023