Betty Chisholm Rouse died January 9, 2023 at the age of 79 after a nearly five-year struggle with vascular dementia resulting from a stroke in 2018.
She was born on December 27, 1943. She was the third of four daughters born to the late Jesse Campbell Chisholm and Julia Snead Chisholm.
She graduated from Gibson High School and held degrees from Pembroke State University (Bachelors in History) and N.C. State University (Masters in Education). Her love of education and learning drew her first to teaching, and she taught school in Hoke County for 20 years. She also prepared taxes part-time for H&R Block for many years which awakened her interest in accounting.
After reenrolling in education for herself, she changed careers after passing all parts of the Certified Public Accounting exam in a single sitting in 1988. In 1989, she became an auditor for the State of North Carolina; then for the Department of Health and Human Services where she received numerous awards for her work. She retired in early 2011 and moved to be closer to her daughter and granddaughters near Yorktown, Virginia. She spent most of her final year outside of Tampa, Florida, relocating with her daughter's family in June 2021.
She was outspoken, energetic, and passionate about her convictions. She loved music and desserts and loved to laugh and dance. She was a doting grandmother to her young grandchildren, filling their every moment with fun activities and letting them turn the house upside down without a care.
She was a generous soul with her family and friends and contributed to many charities including the ASPCA and Humane Society. In her retired years, her two favorite souls on this earth were her daughter Pam's two French bulldogs, Oliver and Brigitte, who she doted on like they were her grandchildren and granted their every wish.
She is survived by her daughter, Pamela Elaine Currie (husband, Joseph Reginald Turnage); her granddaughters, Alexandra Nicole Turnage and Sophia Elisabeth Turnage; her sister, Bertha Helen Chisholm Mullins, and her uncle, Alfred Lee Snead (wife, Verna Poston Snead). She is also survived by three nieces and two nephews, along with several great-nieces and great-nephews.
A graveside service will be held on Saturday, January 21, 2023 at 1 p.m. at Hillside Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Bumgarner Family Funeral Service and Crematorium from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to the Alzheimer's Organization (www.alz.org), Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Avenue, 17th Floor, Chicago, IL 60601 or to the French Bulldog Rescue Network (www.frenchbulldogrescue.org), 421 Crossroads Plaza, Suite 232, West Hartford, CT 06117.
Bumgarner Family Funeral Service and Crematorium is assisting the family.