Betty Sue Spiva Kimmel

Betty Sue Spiva Kimmel passed away at Bay Medical Center Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 1:16 a.m. after a brief illness. She is survived by her three sons, Richard Dean Kimmel and wife Regine of Cochran, Georgia, Alan Harrison Kimmel and Christopher Raymond Kimmel of Panama City; her grandchildren, Laura Copeland and husband Carl Copeland and her mother, Jacquie Thigpen of Lake Park, Georgia; Damon Kimmel and April Kimmel and their mother Jena Kimmel of Panama City and Richard Daniel Kimmel of Cochran, GA; great grandchildren, Julia Claire Copeland and Eleanor Lee Copeland of Lake Park, Georgia; brother, Ernest Raymond Spiva, Jr. and his wife Martha; nephews, Gary Spiva, Lee Spiva; and niece, Susan Spiva Brannen and husband James.
Betty Sue Spiva Kimmel was born in Panama City, Florida on March 27, 1926 and was a resident most of her life. Her great grandfathers, Stephen A. Spiva and Benjamin B. Brown were early pioneers of the Econfina and Saint Andrews areas. Her paternal grandfather, Captain William E. Spiva, was one of the first harbor pilots of Saint Andrews Bay. Her father, Captain Ernest R. Spiva, Sr. also served as a harbor pilot in Panama City for 40 years. Her maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William J. Harrison were early residents of Lynn Haven.
Betty Sue Spiva Kimmel was preceded in death by her parents, Captain and Mrs. Ernest R. Spiva, Sr. and her husband of 62 years, Daniel D. Kimmel.
She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Panama City and was a former member of Panama City Garden Club, Crepe Myrtle Circle. She graduated from Bay High School in 1943 and was a member of Class of 1943 Lunch Group. She also attended the University of Alabama.
Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. on Sunday, December 4th in the Wilson Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Virgil Tillman officiating. Interment will follow in Greenwood Cemetery. Visitation will be from 1:00 until 2:00 p.m. on Sunday prior to the service.

Wilson Funeral Home