Betty Jane Spangler of Reynoldsburg, Ohio died April 22, 2026 at Wesley Ridge Retirement Center. She was born February 6, 1935 in Weston, West Virginia to her father Vorus "Jeff" Meeks and mother Frankie Evelyn Meeks. She was preceded in death by her son Mark Andrew Spangler and her brother Jim Meeks. Betty is survived by her husband Norman "Wayne" Spangler, sister Nancy Meeks Wardlow, and son Stephen (Ann), her grandchildren Mason (Mary Louisa), their great grandson Edmond Laurence Spangler, Granddaughter Margaret Jane (named after Betty Jane) Spangler, and daughter-in-law Deborah Spangler and grandchildren Amelia and Kamryn Spangler.

Betty grew up in Weston and Buckhannon, West Virginia, Denton, Texas and then Columbus, Ohio where she attended Columbus East High School. Betty had a happy childhood and retained her love for West Virginia and the Middle Fork club camp near Queens, West Virginia, where her family had a cabin, which she eventually inherited. She returned almost every year until she was physically unable to go for the last five years. The friends and family she loved and cherished her entire life. She was a good student and active in the Debate Club at Columbus East High School.

She met her husband Wayne at Bexley United Methodist Church Youth group in high school. She started at the University of Cincinnati, but followed Wayne to Drew Seminary and her first major was Home Economics. They were married December 17, 1955 in Bexley United Methodist church and remained married until now--71 years. Betty had two sons with Wayne, Stephen John Spangler born January 22, 1958 while they were serving an inner city Cincinnati church and Mark Andrew Spangler June 25, 1960 in their Brecksville (suburb of Cleveland) church. Betty added an Elementary education degree while they were at Casstown, Ohio church from Bowling Green State University and she began teaching. She taught sixth at Arlington Elementary school at their next church in Arlington, Ohio. She taught her son Steve for a half day in Sixth grade and she once gave her future English major son a C in English. She repeatedly said over the years that he earned it. She was a good teacher (many ex-students have told me they loved her in these years). She believed in reading powerful stories to her students-her favorite book was one given to her by her father (who worked for publisher Harper and Row)-an original copy of "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White.

She was also a "feisty (the aids and nurses at Wesley Ridge used this word to describe her), " fiercely independent women and not afraid to discipline her students when they needed it. She once reportedly had to get a boy hiding in the restroom at Arlington and she yelled into the restroom, "don't you ever think that I am afraid to go in there." She also could be a great peace maker between three volatile, argumentative men-her husband, and two sons. She was very good at this role as well. She helped proceed over many family trips, including trips to Cowboy and military sites out west on the way to Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park when they were still feeding the bears (even big Grizzly bears had their paws out standing by the road). That was the last year the bears were fed by tourists. We also went to the 1964 World's fair and two other New York trips as well in the 1960s, Niagara Falls, Israel, and more. My parents were always showing and teaching the history, the wonder and amazement of travel experiences. Both sons traveled extensively in their adult life and passed on the same love of history and travel experiences to their kids.

When my parents took the church in Waynesfield, Ohio when I was in seventh grade, Betty began teaching at Roundhead elementary school. In 1975 when I was Junior in high school, she broke down crying at the dinner table one night and announced that she had breast cancer. In those days, the only treatment was radical Mastectomy. She completed the surgery and became a fifty-one year survivor of breast cancer.

In the next set of church moves, Betty was at the top of the pay scale for teachers and she could not land a teaching job. She decided to serve her fellow breast cancer survivors by becoming traveling saleswomen for Airway-she sold and taught bra fitting for breast cancer survivors. She retired first to Worthington and then to Reynoldsburg.

Betty and Wayne spent the last five years at the Wesley Ridge retirement center in Reynoldsburg. They just moved to Memory Care and my mother started a steep decline in her health. When I returned last Monday, she was on hospice, taking morphine, and she could not talk. She was in such pain that I had to ask the nurses for more morphine three times. On Tuesday at 12:20, I was holding her hand and she suddenly sat up a little, opened her eyes and looked right at me, moved her lips, she took a breath-her eyes glazed over, her body stiffened and I watched the best mother, loving wife, grandmother, educator, and partner pass into the next world.

Betty Jane Spangler Celebration of Life

June 6, 2026, visitation at 1:30 pm, service at 2:00 pm

Wesley Ridge Retirement Center

Kimes Chapel

2225 Taylor Park Road

Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068

Pfeifer Woodyard Funeral Home is honored to serve the family.