Hendersonville , NC - Laura Elizabeth "Betty" (Teeple) Nehls, U S Army 1st Lt., Retired, formerly of Vero Beach, FL and Minneapolis, Minnesota, died January 28, 2016 at the Keever Solace Center in Asheville, NC.

Born in Baltimore, MD on the 20th of December, 1918, to Laura Elizabeth Miller Teeple and Perry McKee Teeple, Betty graduated from the University of Maryland School of Nursing and joined the U S Army in 1942. Stationed stateside at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, Texas, she cared for German & Italian POWs as well as American amputee patients. During that time, she met her future husband, George Robert Nehls, a young officer from Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

After the war, they moved to Minneapolis, MN. They raised their four children close to Fulton Elementary school, Lake Harriet and Pershing Field. In 1982, Betty & George left snowy Minnesota for Vero Beach, FL, where their interests and friendships blossomed. They lived in the Countryside Community for over 20 years, enjoying bridge, dancing, and cruises with friends and walking The Park in short sleeves during January! While George golfed, Betty began her "2nd career" as an oil painter, traveling around Florida and to NM for painting workshops with her special teacher, Morgan Samuel Price. After George's death in 2005, Betty moved to NC to be closer to her daughters and her brother, Robert Perry Teeple. She continued to paint well into her 90s, adding the beauty of the NC mountains to her canvas'. Besides painting, nothing pleased her more than a good mystery book or an intriguing crossword puzzle.

During her years in NC, she was able to be with her brother in Maggie Valley, NC, more than any time since they were children. Betty was a spirited and spiritual person who loved her family and especially animals from spiders and snakes to her special squirrels. She visited her daughter, Nancy, in rural Weaverville often, and spent many afternoons walking the dogs in the cove and the woods.

Besides her husband, George Robert Nehls, she was preceded in death by her sister, Nancy Virginia Teeple; her brothers, Robert McKee Teeple and Lawrence Holmes Teeple; and her beautiful talented daughter, Mary Louise Rockwell late of Pittsburgh, PA and Davidson, NC.

She is survived by her children, Nancy Nehls Nelson (Curtis Nelson) of Weaverville, NC; George Robert Nehls, Jr. (Sherry Dewulf) of Esko, MN; Thomas Lawrence Nehls of Ft. Lauderdale, FL; her son-in-law, Russell A. Rockwell of Port St. Lucie, FL; nieces A. Burnett Teeple Sheffield (John) of NYC; Elizabeth Perry Whitney-Teeple (Robert Whitney) of Steilacoom, WA; Mari Nehls of Minneapolis, MN; Carol Ann Nehls Larson of Portland, OR; nephews R. Vanstory Teeple (Angie) of Simpsonville, SC; John W. Wherry (Janice) of Richmond, MN and Harry Ludwig Nehls, III of Richfield, MN.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. P. O. Box 8195, Asheville, NC 28814 (www.brotherwolfanimalrescue.org) or an animal rescue society or animal shelter of your choice.

A Celebration of Life will be held in Asheville, NC at a later time. Laura will be interned next to her husband at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D. C.

Please contact Cox-Gifford-Seawinds Funeral Home of Vero Beach, FL, (www.coxgiffordseawinds.com) with questions or for further information.