Dorma Lee Rainey

Dorma Lee (Rogers) Rainey, 90, wife of Dr. Gene E. Rainey, passed from this life on January 10, 2024. Devoted wife, mother and grandmother, she was an active resident of Harmony at Reynolds Mountain retirement community in North Asheville.

Born in Jeffersonville, KY, to George M. and Maggie Rogers, Dorma was the youngest of ten children. She attended Camargo High School, where she was a member of the band and, as a senior, was recipient of the Daughters of the American Revolution Good Citizenship Award. While attending Morehead State College, she studied secretarial science and music and was a member of the chorus, orchestra, and marching band.

In 1956, Dorma transferred to Harding College in Searcy, Arkansas, where she met and married the love of her life, Professor Gene E. Rainey of Pinehurst, Texas. They relocated temporarily to Boston, where Dorma was employed in Personnel with General Electric Company, then to Washington, D.C., Columbus, Ohio and finally to Asheville in 1969.

In 1980, Dorma became a member of the Asheville Board of Realtors, working for Thomson Associates and First Realty until she became owner/broker of Rainey Realty. She was devoted to her clients and made many friends in over three decades of real estate service. Dorma served as Chaplain on the Asheville Board of Realtors for a number of years. The Raineys also established Gracious Living, used in part as a real estate ministry to help people losing their homes to foreclosure. In all, Gene and Dorma helped some 40 families retain their home. In 1998, Gene and Dorma founded Our Next Generation, a non-profit corporation for the purpose of establishing youth centers in Western North Carolina, and started a Youthbuild program to teach high school dropouts construction skills while working toward their GED.

Dorma was known for her smile and her passionate love for God and humanity. Her endless delight was in her family. She cherished teaching Sunday school classes for children ages 4-7 in five states. Dorma loved to sing, especially acapella with her church family, and enjoyed teaching spiritual songs to children and youth. She loved to work in the yard and garden, and was a member of the Asheville Garden Club from 1974 until her passing, having served the club as Chaplain and on numerous committees.

Dorma was preceded in death by her husband of 62 years, Gene, in 2021. She is survived by her daughter, Cheryl Billante, of Austin, TX; son, Eric Rainey, of Raleigh; and three grandchildren: Zachary Billante, and Penelope and Hugo Rainey.

Dorma will be laid to rest in a private family ceremony at Lewis Memorial Park. A memorial service followed by visitation with the family and reception will be held on Sunday, January 21, 1:30 p.m. at Biltmore Church of Christ, 823 Fairview Street, Asheville, NC, 28803. The link https://www.facebook.com/peterpaul33 will allow the memorial service to be streamed.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Dorma’s memory to the Biltmore Church of Christ or Asheville Garden Club.