DOVER - Ruth Elizabeth Bush Harless, (Betty) of Dover, was taken to her Heavenly home on Tuesday Jan. 31, 2012, at the age of 92. Betty was born Sept. 18, 1919, in Hampton, Va., to the late Joseph Thomas Bush and Edna Barney Bush. Betty grew up in Hampton and was graduated from Hampton High School. She then attended State Teachers College at Farmville, now Longwood University, in Farmville, Va. Married to Wintford Bruce Harless in 1940, she is survived by their four children, Marilyn Elizabeth Harless of Greensboro, N,C., Judith Ann Allen (Ray) of Dover, (with whom she lived), Wintford Bruce Harless, Jr. (Martha) of Shelby, N.C., and Nancy Leigh Hauck (Tim) of Suwanee, Ga.; along with six grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren. She also is survived by three step-grandchildren and their families. Betty spent many of her younger years in Greensboro, N.C.; and the family moved to Virginia Beach, Va., in 1965. She moved to North Richland Hills, Texas, in 1995, and to Dover, in 2000. In Greensboro, she was very active in teaching at Lindley Park Baptist Church; and, in Virginia Beach, her church activity and teaching were at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church and Woodland Heights Baptist Church. Betty retired from Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock in 1984. The legacy of Betty's life is her example of Christian devotion and beliefs that she shared with her children and others through her teaching and dedicated prayer life. She exemplified the life of a steadfast Christian. She leaves an abundance of cherished memories of her many contributions to her family. Betty will be buried in the Barney family plot in historic St. John's Episcopal Church cemetery in Hampton, Va., following an 11 a.m. graveside service. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to Enhanced Classroom Resources (ECR), P.O Box 1505, Shelby, NC 28151, or to Delaware Hospice, 911 South DuPont Highway, Dover, DE 19901. Letters of condolence may be sent, and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com.