Betty Elaine Whisenant

 

Betty Elaine Whisenant, age 72, of Northport died on November 9, 2023 at DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 14, 2023, at Magnolia Chapel Funeral Home in Northport, Alabama, from 10:00 am until the 12:00 noon service time with Dr. Shannon Moses officiating. Burial will follow in the Chapel Hill Baptist Church Cemetery.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, Louis Elmes Smith and Rader Cook Smith.

She is survived by her loving husband of 52 years, Troy Whisenant; children, Gary Whisenant (Lindsey) and Kelly Whisenant Cooper (Dustin); grandchildren, Sophie Cooper, Laura Beth Ball, Will Whisenant, Emery Whisenant, Sam Cooper; brother, Gary Smith (Charlotte).

Betty was born on July 29, 1951 in Cullman County. She is a graduate of Vinemont High School and the University of North Alabama. She married the love of her life, Troy, on September 5, 1971. She lived in Sheffield, Alabama for forty years and was a member of First Baptist Church, Sheffield until moving to Northport in 2012. She demonstrated a love for children through teaching in Sheffield City Schools until she retired in 2011, serving on the Adult Board for the Alabama District Key Club, serving in the Tuscaloosa Kiwanis Club, serving as Preschool Sunday School director at Chapel Hill Baptist, and dedicating herself to Vacation Bible School, first at First Baptist Sheffield and then at Chapel Hill Baptist. But her most exciting role was that of Nana to her five grandchildren. She was the Nana who planned science experiments, encouraged artistic pursuits, fostered a love of reading, and always had a baking/cooking task in the kitchen in which the grandchildren could participate.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Chapel Hill Baptist Church VBS fund or the VBS fund at your local church.

Pall bearers will be John Burroughs, Will Foster, Robert Lanoux, Andy Lee, Darby Shirley, and Roger Williams. Honorary pall bearers are Kiwanians of Tuscaloosa.