Elizabeth Haile

Waynesville-Elizabeth (Betty) Gray Johnson Mooney Haile, age 76, died Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at her home in beautiful Maggie Valley, surrounded by loving family and friends. The daughter of the late A. Spencer Johnson and Elizabeth G. Morris, she was born in Augusta, Georgia, on December 9, 1927. She graduated from Tubman High School, Augusta, Georgia, in 1945.

She was blessed to have three very special men enter and enrich her life. In 1947, she married Joseph Mooney, with whom she moved to Orlando, Florida. Joseph died in 1983 after nearly 36 years of marriage. Thomas Haile came into her life the following year and introduced her to the North Carolina mountains. After his death in 1993, she moved permanently to Maggie Valley, where she met her last companion and soul mate, Warren Hilger.

She is survived by five children by both love and marriage: Margaret Mooney MacRae and partner, Bill Parrish, of Franklin, NC; Michael Mooney and wife, Jeri, of Rochester, NH; Nancy Haile Bowden and husband, John, of Greenville, SC; Leigh Hilger and partner, Noel Booth, of Waynesville, NC, and Jeff Hilger and partner Ken Ramoska, of South Weymouth, MA; four grandchildren, Jason MacRae, Andrew MacRae, Melissa MacRae and fiancé, Rusty Morris, Ashley Mooney; and one great-grandchild, Rane Morris. She is also survived by three sisters, Floride Nelson, Margaret Johnson and Cynthia Noppe. She is predeceased by a daughter, Kathy Haile.

She was an active member of Maggie United Methodist Church. She was one of the founding families of hospice in Orlando, Florida, in 1976. She was a devoted hospice volunteer until recently, serving at Hospice Orlando, Hospice of Central Florida, and Haywood Regional Medical Center Hospice. She was also a hospital volunteer at Florida Hospital and HRMC. She worked for several years as a proofreader at the Orlando Sentinel.

A wake to celebrate her life will be held Friday evening at her residence. Services will be held Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Maggie United Methodist Church with the Reverend Jeremy Troxler officiating. Interment of her cremains by family and close friends will take place at 2:00 p.m. at Grace Episcopal Church in the Mountains in Waynesville. An online memorial register is available at ''Obituaries'' at www.wellsfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Maggie United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 112, Maggie Valley, NC 28751, or HRMC Hospice, 560 Leroy George Drive, Clyde, NC 28721.

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