She was the second of four children born to Bertha Lavonia (Brackett) and Silas Patrick Gillentine Sr. She graduated from Girls High School on June 9th, 1943. She worked for The Trust Company Bank of Georgia from the time she graduated high school until she moved to Nashville, TN. While working at the bank, she took night classes to earn her degree in business. She continued her education at the Atlanta Division of the University of Georgia from which she graduated on June 4th, 1950 with a BBA degree. She was an active member of the Crimson Key from 1948-1950. She married Byron Kitchens on December 30th, 1950 in Atlanta, GA. They moved around in their early married life while Byron worked as a civil servant at several different U.S. Air Force bases. In 1952 they started their family while living in Nashville, TN, then Maryville, TN, and Macon, GA. They settled in Marietta in the Oakton neighborhood to raise their family. She began working as a bookkeeper in the office of her brother-in-law Dr. Carroll Beasley, MD, until she retired after 19 years. After her retirement, she volunteered with the Cobb and Bartow AARP Tax-Aid, a service that assists older taxpayers. She was preceded in death by her parents, Bertha and Pat Gillentine, Sr.; husband of thirty three years, Byron R Kitchens; sister and brother-in-law, Josie and Carroll Beasley; brother and sister-in-law, Pat Jr. and Tish Gillentine; and sister and brother-in-law, Carolyn and Charlie Stevens. Surviving are her four children; David Patrick Kitchens, Teresa Ann Kitchens, Kathy Leigh (Kitchens) Bierce, and Vicki Diane Barton (Travis Barton); three grandsons, Nathan (Kayla) Bierce, Kyle (Kiki) Bierce and Riley Bierce; great-granddaughter, Finley Bierce (Kyle and Kiki); and great-grandson, Brooks Bierce (Nathan and Kayla).