Grandma Betty, Instagram Celeb, Dead At 80

Grandma Betty, the beloved Instagram celebrity with more than 682,000 followers, is dead at 80.

Those who followed Betty’s good-natured, high-on-life pics were aware that the octogenarian had lung cancer. On Saturday, the fight against it ended.

During her time as an Instagram celebrity, Grandma Betty encouraged followers to “Love everybody and be good to everybody. That’s the main thing.”

Those were the words she had posted in all-caps on her official site.

CNN notes that Grandma Betty was better known to her family as Betty Jo Simpson from Jeffersonville, Indiana. She had received the cancer diagnosis eight months ago.

Notice of her death was first posted to Instagram, since that’s where most knew her from. It was attached to a photo of her dog Harley, sitting alone in the rocking chair she called home for so many of her pictures.

“After a much needed night of rest, Grandma has come to peace with her battle of Lung Cancer,” read the online memorial. “Although Grandma Betty is no longer physically with us, she will forever be in the hearts of the millions of people she touches every single day. Grandma Betty did not lose her battle to cancer, because her legacy she has left behind will inspire millions of people to #Smile, #BeHappy, and #StayHappy no matter what. The fight has ended. The battle is won.”

Simpson had 682,782 Instagram followers at the time of this post, while following just 20. Total posts to her account equaled 201. It’s not known whether the family will continue to update, and if so, for how long.

The Grandma Betty phenomenon reached the heights that it did because of Betty’s 18-year-old great-grandson Zach Belden. Once Simpson had received her cancer diagnosis, he wanted to document the rest of her life.

“Before grade school, I didn’t have a babysitter. I had my grandma,” Belden told CNN‘s Jarrett Bellini in March. “Many of my friends knew Grandma. And it was a neat way to connect her to them.”

Belden tells CNN that despite her advanced age, and the cancer, Grandma Betty “grew quite savvy about social media, even learning to take selfies,” though Belden admitted it was “harder than it probably seems.”

Simpson described herself as a “Cancer Fighter” and a “Follower of Jesus” on Instagram. Thanks to the world of the Internet, she will continue to do so as long as her account stands.

Rest in peace, Grandma Betty.