Elizabeth A. Nevin

Elizabeth “Betty” (Armstrong) Nevin, 79, passed away Friday in Austin, Texas, following a valiant five-year battle with cancer. She was given a joyous send off in her own home, surrounded by her family. Betty was a loving wife and mother who was devoted to the education of children and serving her community.

Born May 1st, 1932, in Gadsden, Alabama, Betty was raised in Athens, Tennessee and Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. She graduated from Chattanooga High School and received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Chattanooga in 1954.

After college she went to work for Eastern Airlines and met her future husband, William Nevin, while residing in West Palm Beach, Florida. They were married in 1961 and had two boys, Bill and Peter. For most of her adult life she lived in Florida, moving several times to accommodate her husband’s banking career.

Betty spent a lifetime devoted to her family and to the education of children. She worked as a Head Start volunteer in Titusville, Florida, and later taught reading to children as a volunteer tutor in Plantation, Florida. After moving to the west coast of Florida in 1974, she founded a similar tutoring program in Bradenton, and was elected four times to serve on the School Board of Manatee County.

In 1993 Bill and Betty retired to Franklin, North Carolina, in the Smoky Mountains. In Franklin she enjoyed landscaping their hilly, wooded property and watching the many birds and wild animals that lived in the area. They also traveled frequently to visit with family and friends. Betty was famous for hosting a number of large family reunions for both the Armstrong and Nevin branches of the family. She loved to visit with her extended family and kept the connections between the many branches of the family strong. In 2009 they moved to Cedar Park, Texas, to be closer to their sons, daughter-in-law, and three young grandchildren.

Betty was an avid bird watcher and gardner. She was known for keeping many bird feeders stocked with seed and tirelessly working to improve her multiple home gardens. She was also a lover of classical music and always enjoyed attending the symphony and the ballet.

She was preceded in death by her husband William A. Nevin, Jr., her parents Justin P. and Maude Elsie (Matthews) Armstrong, and brother Justin Armstrong. She is survived by her two loving sons, William A. Nevin III of Houston, Texas, and J. Peter Nevin of Austin, Texas, her daughter-in-law Amanda Nevin, and her grandchildren Jack, Georgia, and Thomas, all of Austin. She is also survived by her sisters Flo Cobey of Charlotte, North Carolina, Maudie Duncan of Chattanooga, Tennessee, Jenny Pohan of El Paso, Texas, and brother Melville Armstrong also of Chattanooga, in addition to many cousins, nephews, nieces, grandnephews and grandnieces.

Betty will be sorely missed by her family members, and also by the many friends whose lives she had touched over the years.

The family will receive friends and family between 6:00 and 8:00pm on Friday, April 13, 2012 at the Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home at 9700 Anderson Mill Road in Austin. Mrs. Nevin’s funeral service will be at 3:00pm, Saturday, April 14, 2012 at the same location. Private committal services will be held later in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in her name to the American Cancer Society. To visit Betty’s personal tribute page please go to: http://main.acsevents.org/goto/betty_nevin.