Lorraine Jeanette Bouley Veto, 98, of Greensboro, N.C., left this life on Sunday, December 8, 2024. Her family was with her at the end and is celebrating the long and blessed life of this beautiful, kind, fun-loving and strong woman who was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, aunt and friend to so many people.

Lorraine was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on January 15, 1926, the second child of Ernest John Bouley Jr. and Blanche Durocher Bouley. She was predeceased by her parents and her siblings: Ernest “Tootsie” Bouley, Robert Bouley, and Ellen “Bebe” Bouley DeMezzo.

She graduated from High School of Commerce in Springfield. After working various jobs since age 16, she landed an office job at Gilbarco, Inc., a Springfield-based manufacturer of gasoline pumps.

Lorraine loved to tell the story of how she began dating the love of her life, Marvin C. Veto, in 1946, when she was 20 years old. Marvin had recently returned to civilian life in Springfield after WWII and came to work at Gilbarco. “Everybody had their eye on him – he was cute as a button,” Lorraine recalled. “I really wanted to date him, but he was very shy.” When they ended up in the same company bowling league, she deliberately missed her bus home one night, in the hope that he would offer to drive her home. It worked. Marvin later recalled, “From there, we established that I’d take her home every week. We hit it off right from the start, and there was no question where it was going to end.” They married on August 2, 1947, and enjoyed 71 years together.

They had four children, and Lorraine happily transitioned to the role of stay-at-home mom, while Marvin continued at Gilbarco. In 1966, the family moved to Greensboro, when Gilbarco relocated its operations. After many years as a homemaker, Lorraine chose to return to work to help boost the family finances when her children started attending college. She was a hard-working cashier and accountant for Pilot Life Insurance Company in downtown Greensboro for about 15 years, retiring in the mid-1980s. Her family recalls that she continued to devote herself to their home life, working alongside her husband to keep the household running smoothly and providing a home-cooked dinner every evening and every Sunday after church.

One of their great family adventures came in 1969, when they moved to England for a temporary assignment for Gilbarco. The family enjoyed excursions to London, Wales and Paris during that memorable year. This kindled a love of travel for both Lorraine and Marvin, and after retiring, they traveled extensively, with favorite trips including Israel, England, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, Canada and many parts of the U.S.

Lorraine and Marvin relocated to Kernersville when their children were grown, making many friends and hosting twice-a-year “Vetopaloozas” for all the family to gather. They volunteered together at Crisis Control Ministry in Kernersville for many years. They moved to a retirement community in Stokesdale in 2013. In 2019, a year after Marvin’s death, Lorraine moved to Spring Arbor Assisted Living in Greensboro.

In retirement, Lorraine discovered her gift for watercolor painting. She had a lifelong creative streak and love of crafts, and she began taking watercolor classes at age 65. She kept copious notes on techniques to improve her work, and over the years, she sketched and painted many beautiful pieces, often inspired by her travels. Evidencing their partnership in everything, Marvin learned how to make mats and frames for her finished paintings. She displayed her work in a few small shows, but mostly she enjoyed giving them away or donating them for charity fundraisers.

Lorraine loved to dance. As a young girl, she saved her pocket money to take tap dancing lessons and then drove her father crazy practicing around the house. She and Marvin enjoyed square dancing, round dancing, and even dancing in their kitchen. She never missed a chance to dance, be it in wedding line dances or alongside staff members in the hallways at Spring Arbor.

She loved jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, card games, bingo, and Tar Heel basketball. Her faith was essential to her – she was a lifelong faithful Catholic who discovered a personal relationship with Christ in her mid-40s and shared the joy and peace of her faith with family and friends. She was well-known for enjoying a 4 p.m. glass of wine and bowl of potato chips daily, right up to her final days, and also for greeting everyone with a big smile.

She will be lovingly remembered by countless family members and friends, including her children, Robert Veto (Martha) of Winston-Salem, Marvin T. Veto (Sarah Latture) of Greensboro, Diane Veto Parham (Terry) of Columbia, S.C., and David Veto (Lesley) of Lithia, Fla.; seven grandchildren — Rachel Veto, Charlie Veto (Sarah Cooper), Meredith Veto (Gustavo MartÍnez), Jack Veto, Katie Parham Malhotra (Arjun), Annie Parham (Austin McCullough), and Paul Veto (Laura Beth); and seven great-grandchildren — Emiliano and Teddy MartÍnez, Adam and Emilia Malhotra, and Annabel and Caroline Veto.

The family wishes to express deep gratitude to the caring (and dancing) staff members at Spring Arbor who took such good care of Lorraine and to the Hospice care team from AuthoraCare Collective.

A brief prayer vigil will be held Thursday, Dec. 12, at 5 p.m., followed immediately by visitation until 7 p.m., at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral Chapel, 213 W. Mountain St., Kernersville, N.C. The funeral mass and committal will be Friday, Dec. 13, at 2 p.m. at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 616 S. Cherry St., Kernersville, N.C. The family invites Lorraine’s friends to join them at reception back at Pierce-Jefferson immediately after the committal.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that memorial gifts can be made to Crisis Control Ministry, AuthoraCare Collective Hospice services, or Holy Cross Catholic Church.

Friends and family may offer online condolences at www.piercejeffersonfh.com