VIDEO: The Internet Falls for Grandma Betty and Her Sweet Face!

Grandparents always have a special place in our hearts. We love our parents, of course, we love our siblings, but there is just something… sweeter, warmer about our grandparents.

Grandma Betty was diagnosed with lung cancer late in age. Her great-grandson, Zach Belden, decided to track her final days on Instagram and that was the decision that changed everything. Instagram showed her heart to the world and because of its beauty, now Grandma Betty has more 417,000 followers. God bless her wonderful and warm soul.

Read the full story below, provided by Liftable.

We hear a lot about social media influencers these days. Often, they’re young people whose popularity guides others to the latest trends in clothing or music.

Betty Jo Simpson is likely one of few social media stars who got her start as an octogenarian. And though she passed nearly three years ago, her message of love and the joy of living continues to inspire people of all ages.

Grandma Betty, as she is known on Instagram, was diagnosed with lung cancer late in age. Her great-grandson, Zach Belden, decided to track her final days on Instagram as a way for his friends who knew her to see how she was doing.

“Initially, when my Grandma was diagnosed with cancer, my family and I were trying to come up with a way to kind of document Grandma’s last days,” Belden said. “One of the things that popped up was Instagram.”

Simpson’s family already knew her as selfless. She was known for welcoming people into her home when they had no place else to go.

Instagram showed her heart to the world, though, bringing her playful spirit to life in videos of her dancing and photos of her in a multi-colored clown wig or sticking out a blue tongue while giving a peace sign. Belden said it wasn’t always as easy as it looked, making the photos or videos for the Instagram feed, but Simpson got more outgoing and active as a result.

And to their surprise, she quickly became somewhat of a celebrity in her hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana, and wildly popular on Instagram, reaching more than 682,000 followers — including Pharrell Williams — by the time of her passing in August 2014. Her account still lists 417,000 followers today.

“I can’t dance that good — you know that,” Simpson said in a video made by Belden. “But you know what, if it makes people happy — good.”

While alive, she got cards from around the world with notes encouraging her to keep going and not let the cancer get her down. Despite her passing, her Instagram bio continues to read “Cancer Defeater.”

And her message continues to resonate. Commenters on Instagram and Facebook talk of how they miss her, how she made them smile and share comments such as, “I also have cancer … You made my day.”

Ultimately, Betty’s words and deeds were about love — a message that transcends physical presence. “You have to love people,” she said. “I mean from your heart out.”

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