Betty Whitmire Delwiche

Betty Whitmire Delwiche, aged 92, passed away peacefully on March 27, 2025, at the Elizabeth House, Four Seasons Hospice in Henderson County, North Carolina. Born on August 4, 1932, in the Quebec community of Transylvania County, North Carolina, Betty was the eldest of five, with three brothers and a sister. She grew up in Brevard, North Carolina, graduating from Brevard High School and working as a bank teller and then an executive assistant at the Ecusta paper plant. Upon meeting her future husband, Robert Richard "Bob" Delwiche, Betty moved to Hendersonville, where she and Bob raised their only child, a daughter, Elizabeth.
Betty and Bob were well matched for their mutual love of learning. Betty loved to read, collect North Carolina pottery, furniture, and crafts, and study the plants, birds, animals, gems, and minerals of the mountains. Her math skills made her a formidable bridge player. Always elegant, she nonetheless avidly followed UNC basketball, music, politics, and auto racing. While she never fully embraced Bob's love of antique cars, she did eagerly join him for their road trips and travels around the US and abroad. Their daughter Elizabeth took all her parents' curiosity and love of learning to heart, launching her on a career as a writer and professor.
Betty was the daughter of the late Cecil and Iva Sanders Whitmire. She was also preceded in death by her husband of 54 years, Bob Delwiche; her brother, Sonny Whitmire; her sister, Lois Beshears; and her sister-in-law, Betty Whitmire. Betty is survived by her daughter, Dr. Elizabeth Sanders Delwiche Engelhardt, of Chapel Hill, NC; her siblings, Joe Whitmire (his wife Carole, children Vaughn Whitmire, Connie McGaha, Amy Ball and their families) and Jerry Whitmire (his children Kim Whitmire, Cecil Whitmire, Susan Whitmire, and Rachel Whitmire Buchanan and family); her sister-in-law, Dee Whitmire (children Steve Whitmire, Kathy Whitmire Norfleet, Spencer Whitmire); and nephew and niece, Wayne Brown and Linda Hamilton. Bob's surviving siblings-Ellen Weber, Dan Delwiche, Cathy Foxworth, Ed Delwiche, Carol Delwiche, Frances Delwiche, Lois Zamzow, Joni Delwiche, Ron Delwiche, and their family members-as well as her close friends will also greatly miss Betty's presence in their lives.
Details on a celebration of Betty's life are still being finalized. When the celebration happens, please come tell stories of your shared experiences with her and of the laughter and love of a life well lived in the Blue Ridge mountains and beyond. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in her memory may be made to the Community Foundation of Henderson County. Shuler Funeral Home in Hendersonville, NC, has the honor of serving the family. To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Betty, please visit our floral store.