Betty Rae Kirkpatrick

Let my life s work speak for me. Mrs. Betty Rae (Loudin) Kirkpatrick, 84, passed away at Embracing Hospice in Cumming, GA, on April 9th, 2012 after a long illness. Mrs. Kirkpatrick, a retired Registered Nurse, was predeceased by her husband of 61 years, James Franklin Kirkpatrick, on January 24, 2011. She is survived by her sons James Stephen Kirkpatrick of Wheat Ridge, CO, and Joseph Franklin Kirkpatrick, Sandy Springs, GA, and daughters Patricia Ann Britz of Suwannee and Betsy Sue Mitcham of Cumming. Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick had six grandchildren, all of whom also survive: Jessica Rae Britz of Suwanee, Ga; Mary Megan Elizabeth Kirkpatrick & Kalen Kirkpatrick of Chicago, IL, Bradley Michael Britz of Atlanta, GA, Kelsey Brooke Kirkpatrick of Gainesville, GA and Lauren Claire Mitcham of Cumming, Ga. Betty was born March 29, 1928, in Clay County, West Virginia, the third of twelve children born to Mary Marie (Sturm) Loudin (1905-1980) and Ray Paul Loudin (1903-1997). She is survived by brothers John C. Loudin of Mobile, AL; Danny N. Loudin, Elkins, WV; and William D. Loudin of Dayton, OH; and sisters Margaret Ann Miller, Sebastian; FL, Sara Loudin Hinkle, Elkins, WV; and Judy Hedrick, also of Ohio. She was predeceased by siblings Nancy, Jim, Mary Lou, Bob and Jerry. Following her upbringing on a small farm near Norton, WV, Mrs. Kirkpatrick graduated from high school in Elkins, WV in 1946, and earned her three-year Registered Nursing degree from Davis Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, Elkins, WV in June, 1949, shortly after Mr. and Mrs. Kirkpatrick married in Russell, KY, May 28, 1949. The couple lived in list of cities in the 1940 s 1970 s, including Syracuse, NY, Salisbury, MD, and Silver Springs, MD, and several cities in West Virginia. They made their home in South Charleston, WV from 1971 until they relocated to Cumming in 2007. Mrs. Kirkpatrick retired from her position as head medical-surgical nurse at St. Francis Hospital in Charleston, WV in 1991. She worked as a registered nurse for more than 30 years over the course of five decades from the 1940 s to the 1990 s, before, while, and after raising her four children. She embodied the heart and soul of the nursing profession and inspired numerous others into nursing. Betty Kirkpatrick was an avid gardener and naturalist, who specialized in growing irises and roses, and bird watching. Irises cultivated by her grandmother and mother flourished, and have spread to grace gardens from Colorado to Florida and the Midwest. She was especially fond of hummingbirds, and constantly attracted them with feeders. Her extended family was a focus of her life and an inspiration. The survivors among Loudin s twelve children and 71 grandchildren continue to hold annual reunions begun more than 60 years ago by Ray and Marie Loudin. The family publishes a newsletter to exchange remembrances and anecdotes among family members as far flung as Alaska, Oregon, Florida and New England. Recently the newsletter has migrated from the mail, to email, the FaceBook. They gather to make apple butter on Thanksgiving every year, a tradition begun more than 120 years ago by Mrs. Kirkpatrick s grandmother. Funeral Services will be held at 10:30 AM on Thursday, April 12, 2012 in the McDonald & Son Funeral Home Chapel. Visitation will be on Thursday from 9:00 AM until the hour of service. Interment will follow at GA National Cemetery in Canton, GA. In lieu of flowers the family respectfully requests donations in Betty s name to Embracing Hospice at 8013 Majors Rd., Cumming, GA 30041; and the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th fl., New York, NY 10001. Arrangements by McDonald and Son Funeral Home & Crematory, 150 Sawnee Drive, Cumming, GA 30040 (770) 886-9899