Betty Marie (Stroupe) Pratt, of Cumberland, born on January 23, 1932, passed away most peacefully with her family by her side on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at HopeHealth Hulitar Hospice Center, Providence, RI.

Betty was born in Wythe County, Virginia, to Alexander Baine and Mamie Ellen (Jones) Stroupe. She was the third-born and the last surviving member of a family of nine children. She was the proud sister of the late William Austin, Franklin Delano, Juanita, Margaret Louise, and "A.B." Stroupe of Galax, VA, as well as Roy Lee Stroupe of Ennice, NC, Mamie Josephine (Stroupe) Hawkins Porterfield of Galax, VA, and Helen Virginia (Stroupe) Goodnough of Columbia, SC.

Betty leaves her children and grandchildren to carry her memory close -- and to continue rooting for the Patriots in her absence. She was the dedicated and cherished mother of Michael and his wife, Donna; Douglas; and Patricia Pratt and her husband, Sean McGrath, all of Cumberland. She was the loving and devoted Mimmy to granddaughter Caitlyn May and grandson Alexander James Pratt, also of Cumberland. Additionally, she is survived by several nieces and nephews, with whom she loved to stay in touch regularly across the miles. She was previously married to the late Lucien N. Pratt.

Betty was a 1952 graduate of Galax High School, Galax, VA, where she ranked third in her class and delivered a speech at graduation. She then attended Radford College (now Radford University) in Virginia. Later, she worked in Washington, DC, at both The Library of Congress Annex Photoduplication Division and the FBI's Identification Division, classifying criminal fingerprints by hand before the days of any computer assistance, under the direction of J. Edgar Hoover.

Betty eventually settled in Manville, RI, in the early 1960s, and moved to Cumberland in 1975. Her employment in RI was varied; she previously worked at the Tupperware production facility in North Smithfield, Grace Homes Club Plan in Cumberland, the State of Rhode Island Employment Security office in Providence, and Cumberland's Ann & Hope, among others. Her highest calling and the job that fulfilled her more than any other was being the mother to her children and Mim to her grandchildren.

Without ceasing, central to Betty's life was her faith. She was a former deacon and member of Calvin Presbyterian Church for about two decades, and later attended Four Corners Community Chapel, both in Cumberland. For years, she watched Dr. Charles Stanley's "In Touch" televised ministry weekly, taking notes and studying the Word of the Lord. Needless to say, her Bible was well-read.

She kept in touch with distant relatives via e-mail on her iPad for the last several years, and often wrote letters. She enjoyed cooking, baking, general homemaking, and crafting, and could never actually seem to sit still. She got a kick out of bantering with her children and grandson about politics, even though they were almost always on opposite ends of the political spectrum. She firmly believed in our shared democracy, even traveling to New Hampshire in 2008 to campaign door-to-door for her preferred presidential candidate, and she proudly exercised her right to vote.

She was a fan of the New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox, and Boston Bruins teams. Still, they all paled in comparison to her love of cheering from the stands at her grandson's hockey games and her granddaughter's cheerleading competitions.

Betty was an avid reader, as well as a note-taker and clipper of news articles, which she would distribute to those she thought would want to know more about a particular topic. She never stopped learning. Besides the Bible, her favorite book of all time was Gone with the Wind, and she would encourage everyone to see the movie, read the book, or both. Up until this year, she subscribed to her hometown newspaper, The Galax Gazette. She would want anyone reading this to add southwestern Virginia and the Blue Ridge Mountains to their future travel itinerary immediately. Even though she ended up living in Rhode Island longer than in her home state of Virginia, she remained a proud southern girl. If you listened carefully, you could detect an accent that New England could never permeate.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to Betty's Life Celebration, to begin with Visiting Hours on Thursday, January 15, 2026, from 4 PM to 7 PM in the J. J. Duffy Funeral Home, 757 Mendon Road Cumberland. A Prayer Service will be held at 6:30 PM in the funeral home. Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in her memory to an organization of your choosing that will continue to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.