She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands...She makes linen garments and sells them...She is clothed with strength and dignity...She speaks with wisdom and faithful instruction... (Proverbs 31)

Betty Broach Chalker was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend. She went to be with her Lord on Jan. 1, 2025 at the age of 96. She is survived by her daughter Pamela Harmon, and granddaughter, Becky Labat. She was preceded in death by her husband, Marion L. (ML) Chalker Jr.

She was born on Aug. 28, 1928, in Campton, Georgia, to Allan and Zelma Broach. She graduated from Georgia State College for Women (now Georgia College), in 1949, with a degree in home economics. Immediately after graduation, she began her career as the home demonstration agent for Glascock County, Georgia, where she met her husband, ML Chalker. Very soon after their wedding, ML rejoined the military as an Army officer and Betty was then officially an "Army Wife" for 20 years.

Betty had a love for sewing and was a born teacher. During her long career, she travelled frequently to sewing centers throughout the southeast teaching students how to sew and perfect their skills, but more importantly, how to have fun sewing. She had numerous articles published in women's magazines and had a loyal following from her weekly column in the Atlanta Journal. Her talent was well known in the sewing community, and she eventually opened a sewing center in Marietta, Georgia where she taught sewing and sold fabric and sewing machines for many years. In her later years, she began making quilts. In 2011, she designed and made a quilt that was presented to the City of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where she was living at the time, to memorialize the devastating tornado that had hit the city. She recently made 17 baby quilts that were sent to Samaritan's Purse for the victims of Hurricane Helene.

Funeral services to celebrate Betty's life is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025 at 2 p.m. in the chapel of Williams Funeral Home.