Betty Mitchell Carmichael passed from life on May 9, 2010 at her daughter’s in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was 91 years old.

Betty was born to the late Bessie Sims and William Frances Mitchell on August 20, 1918, in Hougaton, Kansas.

After graduating from White County High School in 1938, Betty earned a BS degree in Home Economics from the University of Tennessee in 1942. She married the late Hugh M. Carmichael in 1946, and they lived together in Knoxville Tennessee, before relocating to Sparta, Tennessee in 1948.

Betty was a Home Demonstration Agent in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and Lebanon, Tennessee, and the Field Director for Girls Scouts in Knoxville, Tennessee. She taught Home Economics at White County High School for 25 years. She shared her homemaking skills in her professional life as a passionate teacher, and taught countless young women about child development and nutrition.

Betty once joked, 'Seems like I’ve been cooking ever since I got here.' Betty credited her interest in cooking to her
great-grandmother Sims, who encouraged her to 'play in the flour bin' and always complimented her cakes, no matter how they turned out.

Betty was a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Sparta. She loved traveling and entertaining on Story Mountain.

She is survived by her children,
Hugh M. Carmichael II (Sue), of Sparta, and Betsy Carmichael, of Chattanooga; her grandsons, Lee (Amanda) Carmichael, of Chattanooga, and
Scott (Josephine) Carmichael, of Sparta; and her great-granddaughter,
Isabella Carmichael.

Her many nieces and nephews and many friends have fond memories of bountiful meals and family gatherings at Betty’s Story Mountain home. Her door was always open and guests were welcome.

Services will be Wednesday May 12, 2010 at Sparta First Presbyterian Church with burial in Highland Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Hospice of Chattanooga or the White Public County Library.