Rebecca "Becky" B. Mitchell, 81

Rebecca "Becky" B. Mitchell, 81, of Hendersonville died with FrontoTemporal dementia on May 14, 2014 at the Elizabeth House.

A native of Tabor City, she lived in other parts of North Carolina and Virginia before moving to Hendersonville in 1998. She was the daughter of the late Volley Reece "V.R." Burroughs, Sr. and Mildred Harrelson Burroughs. In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by her older brother, V.R. Burroughs, Jr.

She is survived by her loving husband of 31 years, Billy "Bill" P. Mitchell of Hendersonville; her daughters, Amy King of New Albany, Ind., Elizabeth Robertson of Fairbanks, Alaska; younger brother, Gene Burroughs of Tabor City; step-children, Sharon Huggins of Altamonte Springs, Fla., Steve Mitchell of Altamont Springs, Fla., Amy Harrison of St. Augustine Beach, Fla.; step-grandchildren, Brittney Smith of Eustis, Fla., Sgt. Chase Boyt, stationed in Afghanistan; and step-great-grandchild, Hailey Belle Smith.

Becky graduated from Tabor City High School in 1950; Coker College, Hartsville, S.C., in 1954 with an AB degree in elementary education; and University of Virginia Tech in 1994 with an MS in counseling. She taught and counseled in the public schools of Durham,  Danville, Va.; Orange County, and Fairfax, Va., for a total of 43 years.

At Coker College, Becky was voted May Queen, president of the student body, "Best All Around" and was a member of the Cutie Court. Her marriage to the late Alfred H. Martin, Jr. ended in divorce.

She found pleasure in sharing her happiness, spiritual beliefs, training, and experiences with everyone. She was a vibrant, generous, creative spirit who made the earth a more hopeful, loving planet.

Becky represented her Falls Church, Va., Presbyterian Church in Russia teaching PAIRS, a course in making marital relationships successful. As a representative of the International Executive Service Corps, she and her husband did a mission to Zambia, where she taught street children. A favorite mission was to assist in the development of a Buddhist school in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Since she and her husband joined a colleague from Binghamton, N.Y., in the project in 2006, the school has grown from 46 students in grades 1-4 to 425 students in grades 1-10 today.

After Becky's retirement and move to Hendersonville, she continued to serve others. She served as an intake person at the Interfaith Assistance Ministry (IAM), as a food server at the Rescue Mission, in the outlet store of the Habitat for Humanity, as a Big Sister, a mentor for the Literacy Council, and was a member of the AAUW. She was a member of Grace Lutheran Church.

A Memorial service will be held 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 21, 2014, at Grace Lutheran Church in Hendersonville. A committal service will follow the service in the Grace Memorial Gardens. Immediately following the interment the family will receive friends in Stull Hall.

In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be directed to Grace Lutheran Church, 1245 Sixth Avenue West, Hendersonville, NC 28791, or Memory Care 100 Far Horizons Lane, Asheville, NC 28803.

An online register book is available for family and friends by visiting www.thosshepherd.com.

Thos. Shepherd & Son Funeral Directors and Cremation Memorial Center is in charge of arrangements.