Mrs. Davis was born April 28, 1921 in Union Hill, Ill., daughter of the late William Paul Frederick Schott of Union Hill and the late Florence Hazel (Welsh) Schott of Kalamazoo, Mich. She was preceded in death by her sister, Lucille Schott Day, and brothers Donald Lewis Schott and Paul Henry Schott.

Mrs. Davis received her nurse&squo;s training and Registered Nurse (RN) designation at Saint Mary&squo;s Hospital, Minneapolis, Minn., 1942. She was commissioned an Ensign, U.S. Navy, and was sent to San Diego for Navy indoctrination. While there, she left her purse at a Navy movie night and when the clever duty officer Reuel Davis saw her cute picture ID, he chose to return it to her personally. They saw each other several times before Betty was shipped to Aiea Heights Hospital, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

At Pearl, Reuel Davis again looked Betty up for some off-duty socializing, not knowing if their paths would cross again. Betty was an excellent athlete in tennis and softball. Her nurse&squo;s team won the league behind &dquo;slugger Betty&squo;s&dquo; bat and she was chosen for the all-star championship game. She noted in her diary that she enjoyed playing in front of all the &dquo;brass and bigwigs.&dquo;

After Betty returned home, Reuel Davis again came calling.&bsp; After exchange trips between Boston and Kalamazoo, the two were married on April 27, 1946, in Kalamazoo.

Betty&squo;s three careers, loving wife, devoted mom, and nursing, kept her busy. When her sons were in high school, she went back to work to help send them to college. She served in a doctor&squo;s office, as the plant nurse for General Electric, Hendersonville and Cranston Print Works, Balfour, N.C.

Betty and her husband Reuel were active church members their entire lives, Tryon Presbyterian Church, and prior, charter members of Covenant Presbyterian Church, Hendersonville for over 20 years.

Mrs. Davis was tireless in service to others. Through the Red Cross, Betty and Reuel served as volunteers to the Veterans Administration Hospital in Oteen, N.C., weekly for 17 years. When the hour and a half commute to Oteen became too much of a burden on the 80 year olds, they volunteered at the local Red Cross Bloodmobile.

Mrs. Davis took great pleasure in traveling extensively with her husband Reuel. Betty served on several committees of the Tryon Estates Residents Association, including the genealogy society and the culinary committee. Betty&squo;s hobbies included sewing, needlepoint, and bridge. Betty and Reuel played bridge from the very beginning of their lives together. Betty was involved in both couples and ladies&squo; bridge clubs from Hendersonville and the two kept in touch with bridge friends dating as far back to the &squo;50s.

Mrs. Davis believed strongly in the importance of higher education, joining with Reuel in providing their four grandchildren the means to achieve undergraduate degrees.

Mrs. Davis is survived by her son John R.&bsp; Davis, his wife Helene (Pomazon) Davis of Marietta, Ga.; her son Paul E. Davis and his wife Leslie M. (Plumlee) Davis of Atlanta, Ga., and four grandchildren Amanda A. (Davis) Nall and her husband Daniel Nall; Jeremiah J. Davis; Olivia O. Davis; and Genevieve G. Davis.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 26, 2008, 11 a.m. at the Tryon Estates Auditorium, 617 Laurel Lake Drive, Columbus, N.C. 28722. (828) 894-3000.

At the request of the family, in the lieu of flowers, a memorial gift may be made to the building fund at Tryon Presbyterian Church, 430 Harmon Field Road, Tryon, N.C. 28782.

An online guest register is available at www.mcfarlandfuneralchapel.com

McFarland Funeral Chapelof Tryon is in charge of arrangements.

‐ paid obituary