Betty Hemphill was born in High Point, North Carolina, in February 1932. She was raised on a farm in nearby Colfax.
Hemphill enlisted in the Women’s Air Force in August 1949 and was sent to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, for basic training. She was then stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, from October 1949 to March 1950, where she attended supply school. She was transferred to Ellington Air Force Base in Houston, Texas, where she worked in base supply and played on the softball team. Hemphill was then assigned to Keesler in Biloxi, Mississippi, for eight months, where she worked as squadron supply officer. In June 1951 she transferred to Fayetteville, North Carolina, and worked a recruiter. While there, she met Ralph Hemphill, and they were married in December 1951. She was discharged in June 1952 when she became pregnant.
The Hemphills moved to Greensboro in 1955 and raised three sons. In 1967 Betty Hemphill went to work for the post office, and in 1974 she was appointed postmaster. Hemphill retired from the USPS in 1992 and passed away on 7 August 2008.
