Elizabeth "Betty" Ann Carden, 84, of Traverse City passed away on March 22, 2024, at Orchard Creek Supportive Care in Traverse City, Michigan.

She was born on October 11, 1939, to Sven Arne and Kathleen "Katie" (Morse) Shield. The Shield family was well known in town for their hospitality management, running the Traverse City Country Club in the summers and Holiday Hills in the winters, eventually opening Shield's Family Dining restaurant on Munson Avenue. Betty worked alongside her family at their various locations. Her winning spirit combined with these early sporting exposures resulted in aspirations for a competitive skiing career that was cut short when she broke her leg during Olympic pre-trials. Undaunted, Betty remained an avid golfer, winning numerous trophies on the course, singly and with her favorite 40-year-senior partner, Bertha Soderburg.
Betty attended Central Michigan University where she met Gary Michael Carden. They were married on December 17, 1961, at Central United Methodist Church in Traverse City, Michigan. Gary was enlisted in the U.S. Army and stationed in Germany while Betty returned to CMU to complete her teaching degree before joining Gary.

Betty and Gary lived in Germany for two years, and later in life she moved to West Bloomfield for cancer treatment, but she always returned to her beloved Traverse City. Betty was passionate about education and was employed as a teacher for 38 years, imparting knowledge and skills to students first at Traverse City High School and then at Northwestern Michigan College. She was mainly known for teaching physical education classes such as golf, bowling, tennis, and skiing and first aid to maritime and nursing students. Her love for sports and the outdoors enriched the lives of her students and colleagues, and created cherished memories with friends and family. Betty eventually earned her MBA and taught in the Business Department at NMC.

In addition to learning hospitality from her family, Betty also learned service and volunteerism. She and her mother volunteered for the National Cherry Festival where Betty served as the Director of Children's Activities. She delighted in organizing fun events such as turtle races and dog jumping contests, bringing joy to many. Betty's numerous hobbies included gardening, sewing, reading and playing piano. She also loved playing bass clarinet in the NMC Community Band along with her trumpet-player husband, Gary and saxophonist son, Chris. She loved playing games and having fun with friends and family, and especially enjoyed hosting the annual Morse family reunion at her home on Peninsula Drive (dubbed Betty's by the Bay by her cousins). Later in life she looked forward to the monthly lunch with her fellow classmates of Traverse City Central High School's Class of '57.

Betty's drive to win helped her beat cancer, but her athletic body gave out in recent years and she relied on the compassion of her caregivers with Johnecare and at Orchard Creek along with her hospice team, for which her family is eternally grateful. She will be lovingly remembered for her warmth, kindness, generosity, love of fun and competition, and for the bright colors and wild patterns she was known to wear.

Betty is survived by her loving children, Christopher "Chris" (Soona Kothawala) Carden, Michelle (Dan) Riehl, grandchildren Lila, Bohdan and Ravi Carden and Cooper and Carter Riehl, sister Barbara Vinson Shield, sister-in-law Candace Shield, brother-in-law Jim Brake, four nephews and numerous cousins and friends.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband Gary, infant son Shawn Patrick Carden, sister Sandra Brake, brother Thomas Shield, and brother-in-law Joe Vinson.

A Memorial Service will be held at 3pm on Saturday, March 30, 2024 with a visitation held one hour prior at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. Memorial contributions may be directed in her name to the NMC Scholarship Fund ( https://www.nmc.edu/about/foundation/giving/give.html , or NMC Foundation,1701 E Front St, Traverse City, MI 49686) or Hospice of Michigan ( https://secure.qgiv.com/for/hospiceofmichigan or by mail to 2366 Oak Valley Dr, Ann Arbor, MI 49301). To view her service live please visit rjfh.tv.


Kindly share thoughts and memories with her family at www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com .