JoBeth Lemon Lynette Rayborn, M.D.

JoBeth Lynette Lemon Rayborn, M.D., left this earth to be with the Lord on September 12, 2020 at 7:45 p.m., surrounded by her family in Apex, North Carolina. She lived in St. Augustine, Florida, and was 63. JoBeth was born on March 31, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois, to her mother Billie Whitlock Lemon.

JoBeth met her husband of 38 years, Stephen Carl Rayborn, at the Raleigh-Durham Airport during the summer of 1981 where they both worked the FBO. Their son, Stephen Aaron Rayborn, was born August 3, 1983, and is currently attending Law School in San Diego, California.  She received her B.S. in Biology with a minor in European History from Northern Kentucky University in 1991. JoBeth originally wanted to be a veterinarian, but after discovering there were no vet schools in Kentucky, she took the MCAT and passed with flying colors. JoBeth then applied to the University of Louisville where she received her M.D. in 1997, despite being diagnosed with a grade three astrocytoma in 1996. She was a MENSA member. Her first true love was photography; she also loved the water, boating and beating her sisters in long games of progressive rummy. She was a world traveler, living in Greece and Israel at different times in her life.

Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday morning, September 15, 2020 in the Mausoleum Chapel at Pine Forest Memorial Gardens, Wake Forest, North Carolina.

She is preceded in death by her father, Jimmy Clair Lemon; her grandparents, Mary and Jim Lemon; her uncle, George Lemon, her mother and father-in-law, Martha L. and Gerald C. Rayborn; and her daughter-in-law, Stephanie Wilson Rayborn. She is survived and deeply loved by her husband, Stephen, and son, Aaron; her mother, Billie; her sister, Kara Luan Lemon Ross, brother-in-law Eric Ross, and their children Taylor and Brandon; her sister Melea Lyn Lemon and her children Sarah and William Dugger; brothers-in-law Jerry Rayborn and Matthew Rayborn; her niece Heather and nephews Scott, Bradley, and Chris; her beloved dogs Hidi and Hanz; and countless family and friends.

Anyone who has met JoBeth can attest that she is a true Christian; in fact, many might recall her husband saying she is "the most Christ-like person on the planet." Although JoBeth has succumbed to her brain cancer, she battled it for 24 years after originally being given only 8 months to live, which stands as a testament to her strength and character.

 In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations to be made to Duke's The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center, DUMC Box 3624, Durham, NC 27710(https://tischbraintumorcenter.duke.edu/donate) or Gideon's International (South Johnston Camp), P.O. Box 140800 Nashville, TN 37214.

Arrangements by Clancy Strickland Wheeler Funeral Home, 1051 Durham Road, Wake Forest, NC. (919)556-7400

www.cswfuneralhome.com