Betty Dolores Risner

Betty Dolores Miller Risner, age 87, a resident at Heather Glen Retirement, died peacefully in her sleep on Monday, June 12, 2023, at her home in Arden, NC. Born in High Point, NC on December 6, 1935, she was the daughter of Adam Winfred Miller and Ada Belle Rathburn Miller. She spent much of her childhood in Pensacola and had an abiding love for the mountains.

Dolores, known to all as "Dee", married and moved to Maryland where she raised three sons (Kevin, John, and Jim) with her beloved husband, Thomas Risner, who preceded her in death. She was also preceded in death by her son, Kevin Thomas Risner (Donna Joyce). Dee worked as a legal secretary for the National Education Association in Washington, D.C for years until her retirement in 1997. At that time, she and Tom moved back down south to be closer to family.

Dee and Tom bought a vacation home on Cattail Creek in the 1960's, and the highlights of the year were the times we spent there each summer with her extended family and friends. An avid churchgoer and volunteer, her passions included writing poetry and talking on the phone. She once talked to a wrong number on Christmas Eve for over half an hour.

Left to cherish her memory are her two sons, John Risner (Sharon Parente) of Larchmont NY, and Jim Risner of Nelson, New Zealand and three grandchildren, Win (Rachelle) Risner of Chicago, Illinois, Nick Risner of Austin, Texas, and Zoe Risner of Wellington, New Zealand.

The service will be graveside at the Eddie McMahan Cemetery in Pensacola, NC sometime this fall when Jim is able to get here from New Zealand.

Holcombe Brothers Funeral Home is respectfully serving the Risner family.

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