Elizabeth Touchton Melcolm “Betty”, age 95, passed away August 9, 2026. She was born on October 31, 1930, in Jacksonville, Florida to Miriam and Bill Touchton, Sr. Betty grew up in Jacksonville Beach and graduated from Duncan U. Fletcher High School in 1948. Betty entered the Riverside Hospital School of Nursing, and then soon after met her husband, W. Kenneth Melcolm, Sr., and they were married in 1951; she graduated from her nursing program the same year. Betty worked as a RN at Baptist Medical Center in the ICU.
Betty and her husband were blessed with five children Kenneth, Jr. (Barb), Deborah Welsh (Samuel), Robert (Barbara), Gary (Debra), and Miriam Melcolm. She also had 13 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren. She also is survived by several nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, brothers Bill, Bob, Theo, and Dean, and granddaughters Marcia and Tracy.
A celebration of Betty’s life will be held Saturday, August 29, 2026, at 1:00 PM at Arlington United Methodist Church. Betty’s final wishes were for donation to medical science. In lieu of flowers, Betty’s wishes were for memorial donations to her church, Arlington United Methodist Church or to charity of choice.
