SARA ELIZABETH OMOHUNDRO JOHNSON, 99Former WHHS Teacher TAMPA - Sara Elizabeth Omohundro Johnson, 99, died of pneumonia in Tampa on September 15, 2012. Known to her family and many of her friends as Betty, she and her husband Charles moved to Winter Haven with their daughter Julie in 1955. Betty taught at Denison Junior High and Winter Haven High, and was a member of Grace Lutheran Church. Betty was born in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, in 1913, to Tipton Turner and Mary Finley Omohundro. She grew up in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Before moving to Florida, she and Charles spent several years in the Philippines, where they were part of the post-war reconstruction effort. She was very close to her two sisters, Caroline and Virginia, who eventually moved to Florida with their families, and she was very proud of her brother, Tom, who retired from the Air Force at the rank of Colonel. Betty's mother Mary established a strong tradition of education for her daughters. A teacher herself, she returned to college late in life to earn BA and BS degrees, proudly graduating from Northeastern State Teacher's College of Oklahoma with two of her daughters, Betty and Virginia. All three of Mary's daughters obtained teaching certificates; Betty earned a graduate certificate in Business Education, French, Social Studies, and Vocational Education. Betty began her teaching career in 1934, and taught in Arkansas, Indiana, Missouri, and Oklahoma before she began teaching in Winter Haven in 1955. She taught briefly at Denison Junior High, but spent most of her career at Winter Haven High, where she taught typing, bookkeeping, and shorthand in the Business Education Department. Her sister Virginia taught high school in Tampa. After she retired from teaching in 1977, Betty moved to Tampa to be closer to her sisters, but always thought of Winter Haven as her home. She remained independent and healthy until her recent illness, and was able to celebrate her 99th birthday at home with family and friends in August. She was preceded in death by her husband Charles Johnson, her sisters Caroline Foster and Virginia Ford, and her brother Tom Omohundro. She is survived by her daughter, Julie Omohundro, of Durham, North Carolina, and by five nephews, who are Caroline's and Tom's sons. A memorial service will be held at 11:30 on Saturday, October 20, at the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 3712 West El Prado Blvd. in Tampa. In lieu of flowers, her daughter asks that donations be made to Meals on Wheels of Tampa(www.mowtampa.org) or the Humane Society of Polk County, 324-5227.