Betty Severyn

Betty June Rose Severyn died on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. She was 93. Born in West Virginia, Betty graduated from Warren G. Harding Senior High in Warren, Ohio, the city she considered her hometown. She went on to become a registered nurse after graduating from Youngstown Hospital School of Nursing in 1947. Betty continued her education graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Miami in 1963 with a BS in Nursing where she was inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society for Nursing. She then went on to graduate from the University of Florida in 1967 with a Masters degree in Nursing and Hospital Administration where she was awarded “Graduate Student of the Year” - an honor earned based on grade point average and a vote from her classmates. Betty began her career as an ER, Labor & Delivery and General Duty nurse before becoming a Nursing Supervisor and then Administrator. In 1963, she became an Instructor at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s School of Nursing in Miami, where she later became the Director in 1971. In 1976, Betty accepted a Senior Vice President position at Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, TN where she worked until she retired in 1986. After retiring, Betty continued her life’s work helping others by volunteering with AARP for nearly 20 years. During this time, she was a well-respected and outspoken advocate for America’s aging population. Beginning as a state volunteer in 1988; by 1991, she was serving as AARP State Director for Tennessee. In 1995, she became the Southeast Regional Volunteer Director. In 1998, Betty was elected to a six-year term on the AARP Board of Directors. She was then elected by the board to serve as Vice President - Board Governance for the 2002-2004 biennium. As an AARP board member, Betty testified numerous times on Capitol Hill as a spokesperson for Health Care Reform, giving a voice to the elderly and their families. During her long career, Betty has received numerous recognitions and awards including ‘Nurse of the Year’ from the Tennessee Branch of the National League of Nursing, ‘Nursing Alumnae of the Year’ from the University of Miami, ‘AARP 1999 Trustee of the Year’ and ‘Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s Jane Kennedy Excellence in Aging Award’ in 2004. In addition, Betty served on dozens of advisory committees and boards including the Tennessee Commission on Aging, the Tennessee Board of Nursing, the Board of the Chattanooga Area Mental Health Association and the Consumer Advocacy Committee for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and the. Betty’s accomplished career was not outshined by her love of family. She moved to Chattanooga with her husband, Henry Severyn, in 1976. They were married for 53 years until his death in 1999. Also predeceasing Betty were her parents, Mary and Martin Rose; a daughter, Carol Lynn Severyn; and her three sisters, Margaret Dively and Dorothy Joy of Warren, Ohio and Mary Gorby of Dayton, TX. Survivors include daughters, Cheryl Boggs, Miramar, Fla., and Patricia Shepherd, Vestal, N.Y.; nephew, Robert Dively, Williamsburg, Va.; great-nephew, W. Martin Gorby, Ringgold, Ga., and her three granddaughters, Renee Fancher, Shelley Burge and Kristen Del Pero along with their families which include Betty’s six great-grandchildren. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, Feb. 20, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Chattanooga Funeral Home North Chapel, Hixson. A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m. in the funeral home chapel. In lieu of flowers, please continue the fight by making a memorial contribution in Betty’s name to the American Heart Association or the Alzheimer’s Association. “A loving heart and a beautiful mind are a terrible thing to waste.” Donations to the American Heart Association can be made online at donatenow.heart.org or by mail to the American Heart Association, Greater Southeast Affiliate, PO Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692. Donations to the Alzheimer Association can be made online at alz.org or by mail to Alzheimer Association, PO Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011 Arrangements are under the care of the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist, 5401 Highway 153, Hixson. Please share your thoughts and memories at www.chattanooganorthchapel.com