Betty Atwood

Betty Atwood, born Betty Southern on September 7, 1923, in Mingo, Iowa, to Russell and Treva (Eatwell) Southern, passed away at the age of 100. A proud graduate of Mingo High School at just 16, she went on to attend what is now the University of Northern Iowa, earning her teaching degree and later her BA in 1952 and MA in 1957.

During World War II, with her brothers serving in the military, Betty began her teaching career in her hometown of Mingo to help support her parents. She taught there for five years before moving to Emerson Hough in Newton, Iowa, for four more years. Her dedication to education continued as she advanced through roles including County Elementary Supervisor for O’Brien County in Primghar, Elementary Supervisor for Polk County, and finally as a curriculum and staff development specialist for eleven counties with the Heartland Area Education Agency. She devoted 45 years to the field of education.

Betty came from a deeply patriotic family. Her father served in World War I, her husband James in World War II, and both of her brothers, Lowell and Deane, were killed in Italy during the war. She held numerous leadership positions in professional organizations, serving as president of the Mingo auxiliary, state education chairperson, and delegate to three national conventions. She was a life member of the National Education Association and the Iowa Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, past president of the Tau Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma, and a member of Phi Delta Kappa.

Betty was preceded in death by her husband James, her parents Russell and Treva, her brothers Lowell and Deane, and many other loved ones. She is survived by her cousins Bob, Deanna, and Bill Lewis, Mary Ann Chrisman, Mary Kay and Don Cummings, John and Wanda Eatwell, Rowena Nelson, Linda Porter, Mark Menaer, and Mary Beth Cavert, along with many dear friends from throughout her long life.