John Betz Obituary

John Betz attended Quincy High School in Quincy, WA. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about John Betz.

Graduation Year	Class of 1958
Date of Passing	(unknown)
About	John passed away in mid-July this year (2014). He'd been in a lot of pain and unable to shake off what was ailing him. He'll be remembered for his gregarious and fun-loving nature. Since graduation we were not close due to our military assignments, but we stayed in touch and made contact outside our regular class reunions. He was a Vietnam era hero, helicopter pilot) with all the awards and decorations to prove it. I know I'll miss him and will always remember him with warm regards. Here's to you John, boyah!

Classmate Memories

Message

Frank Leuck '58 said:

John and I were in the class of 58. We both entered the military about the same time, he went for the Army and was flying helicopters and I went for the Air Force and was a close air support fighter pilot. We both served in the Southeast Asian conflict. While I was in pilot training I was allowed to fly a cross-country flight where ever I wanted. Since I knew John was in the Dallas-Ft.Worth are, well within my cross sountry range, I called him up to see if he would be up for a visitor. He said he was going to a wedding, but didn't think he'd be out too late. Plus he said he'd leave the door unlocked and I could go into the house and find a spare bedroom if he wasn't there. So I arrived at his quarters, found the door unlocked and found the spare bedroom, and hit the hay, even though he wasn't home yet. Com morning, I got up early and was preparing to leave when I heard a noise in one of the other bedrooms. The door was a jar, so I called out to John and he sat up in bed only to realize it wasn't John. Or at least it didn't look like John, so I pardoned myself, and offered an explanation for my presence in the house, when he said, "Well how the hell are you, Frank?:" I still wasn't sure it was John because this man was totally bald and the last time I had seen John, he was not bald. We laughed about it and he got up and made breakfast for us. That was the first time I would see John after graduation. Every time Judith and I passed through Hermiston, we would stop by to refresh our friendship. Our last visit to see him was the day after his death and the staff at his rest home gave me the sad news. I consider John one of my best friends and while in HS we did a lot of hunting, fishing, horseback riding and camping with Jim Fromm's Boy Scout troop. I think of him often and miss him terribly. John, may the skies always be friendly and the winds fair. I'll meet you somewhere, someday, while making my way between the clouds. Here's to you John ~ Hoorah!!!

Comment