Elizabeth Jane Summers Olive left this world on July 31, 2015, following a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Betty was born on Aug. 25, 1926, in Sheffield, Alabama, where she graduated from Sheffield High School, there meeting the young man, Homer Selwyn Olive, who upon his return from service in Europe in World War II as a highly decorated P-47 fighter pilot, became her husband of 38 years. Elizabeth was the exceptional wife of Col. Olive throughout his career in the Air Force. They raised a family of three sons amidst moves to post-war Germany, post-war Japan, Alaska and Hawaii while they were territories, and eight states, making dear friends at every stop, including dearest friend, Elizabeth Marie (Combs) Gevedon, of Fairborn, Ohio. They retired with son Tom to their little Eden in Killen in 1974, where, near her father, sisters, life-long friend, Toni Pogue, and her and Selwyn’s other old friends and family, she said she spent the happiest days of her married life. There, Betty blossomed as a seamstress, humorist writer, cook, family planner and, under the wing and tutelage of her dear friend and neighbor, Patricia Talbot, as an exceptionally talented water color artist. Betty’s many paintings grace the walls of friends, family and several commercial buildings in the Shoals area. After her husband’s youthful passing and the loss of her father and one of her sisters, she made the heart-wrenching decision to leave her home state and church home at Killen Church of Christ, moving to live near two of her sons in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1993. There she lived independently and immediately joined the community of the West End Church of Christ, where, coincidentally, a high school classmate, Ruth Thomason, was already a member and became her good friend. Years later, after Betty moved to the Elmcroft Assisted Living facility, and again by “coincidence,” Ruth became Betty’s table companion at dinner. Betty and her family were fortunate to have the tender care and support of Elmcroft’s devoted administrative staff, attendants and nurses for more than five years until her peaceful passing, and many of them enjoyed her keen sense of humor and grand spirit throughout her stay. Throughout her life, Betty was a lover of people, pets, natural beauty and life, all of which were illustrated permanently in her art and letters. Her love is irreplaceable.
She was predeceased by her father, Grant Osborn Summers; mother, Pauline Blanche Alston Summers; sister, Anna Patricia Summers Moore; sister, Bobbie Augusta Summers Webster; and beloved daughter-in law, Patricia Aline Stritch Olive.
She is survived by son, Lawrence William Olive, of Knoxville, Tennessee; son and daughter-in-law, Thomas S. Olive and Cathy Ann Olive, of Florence, Alabama; son and daughter-in-law, Robert Selwyn Olive and Sandra Sue (Gevedon) Olive, of Knoxville, Tennessee; grandsons, Kevin-Douglas Gevedon Olive, of Baltimore, Maryland, Jesse Wade Olive, of Las Vegas, Nevada, Jonathan Grant Olive, of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Stephen Scott Olive, of Knoxville, Tennessee; stepchildren, Matthew Scott Sorrells, of Sulligent, Alabama, Bryan Eugene Sorrells, of Beaverton, Alabama, and Loren Elizabeth Sorrells Price and her husband, Brantley M. Price, of Muscle Shoals, Alabama; and many loving nieces and nephews and their extended families.
Betty will be taken by Rose Mortuary in Knoxville to Spry-Williams Funeral Homes, 1950 Helton Dr., Florence, AL 35630, telephone (256) 764-6401. There, immediate family will meet today at 12:30 p.m. (CST); other family and friends will be received from 1 p.m. until service time at 3 p.m. followed by a brief graveside service at Macedonia Church of Christ, 2931 Co. Rd. 158, Florence, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, any donations are requested to be made to Betty’s cherished charity, St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
