Robert Betz Obituary

Robert Leroy "Bob" Betz

Aug 1, 1929 - Oct 10, 2024

Wentzville, MO

Robert L. Betz, business leader, artisan and aviation enthusiast, died Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, at age 95, of natural causes at Jefferson Barracks VA Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He was born in Sandusky on Aug. 1, 1929, to a farming family in a rural area south of Sandusky. The family moved into the city in 1941 after the federal government seized farmland to create the Plum Brook Ordnance Works, now the site of NASA's Armstrong Test Facility.

Betz was an athlete at Sandusky High School, where he graduated in 1947. He briefly attended The Ohio State University in Columbus. He was inducted into the Army in 1951 during the Korean War. After training in Texas and Washington state, he served as an artillery mechanic with the Sixth Army 5th Artillery Air Defense Group at Camp Hanford, defending the Manhattan Project's Hanford Site near Richland, Washington. There he met his future wife, then Jeannette "Jo" Beers, who worked at the Hanford Site. After discharge from the Army in 1953.

Upon discharge, Betz returned to Ohio, built a new home for his mother and sister near Norwalk, then married Jo in Sandusky on her 20th birthday. Betz was in business with his brother, Stanley, before joining propane gas retailing companies that later became InterNorth, one of the predecessors to Enron Corp. For most of his career, Betz was a district, then regional, manager when the company was known as Northern Natural Gas Co. The Betz family lived briefly in Michigan before settling in a rural area near Norwalk, where they built a house and raised five children. The family later lived in Warren, Pennsylvania, Des Moines, Iowa, and Caledonia, New York, as he took on different roles at Northern. Betz had a passion for aviation all of his life, beginning as a child when he would bicycle from the family farm to a nearby airport to watch flights of his cousin, Clarence Curtis. He took civilian flying lessons during his military service, then earned his private pilot license in 1966. Betz flew recreationally frequently after retiring and owned a series of small planes. He was an active member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and served at various times as president of Chapter 50 in Huron, Ohio, and Chapter 135 in Des Moines, Iowa. One of the highlights of his service to EAA was organizing the 1977 Des Moines visit of the Spirit of St. Louis replica celebrating the 50th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's tour of the U.S.; then-Gov. Robert Ray spoke at the event. He was member of the Quiet Birdmen, an aviation fraternity. Betz was a member of the Lions Club, serving a term as president of the Caledonia-Mumford club. When retired from Northern in 1984, Betz became a tinsmith and with Jo, an award-winning quilter, operated the Tin and Brass Works workshop and gallery in Mumford, New York. He used 19th-century tools and methods to create historically accurate reproductions of lamps, architectural details and other tin products. Betz worked as a docent at the Genesee Country Village and Museum for 25 years, where he operated the tin shop and demonstrated period manufacturing tools and techniques to visitors, particularly schoolchildren. After Jo passed away in 2011, he lived with daughter Debra Ciskey and her husband Mark Ciskey in Monument, Colorado and Wentzville, Missouri.

In addition to his wife, Betz was predeceased by his parents, Stanley Betz Sr. and Bernice (Erckman) Betz; his sister, June Betz; his brother, Stanley Betz Jr., all of Norwalk, Ohio; and a son, Thomas Betz of Sleepy Hollow, New York.

Survivors include daughters, Debra Ciskey of Wentzville, Missouri and Beth Betz of West Monroe, Louisiana; sons, Dean Betz of Seattle and David Betz of Daytona Beach, Florida; grandchildren, Carl Michels of Shreveport, Louisiana, Matthew Michels of New York City, Joseph Michels of Iowa City, Iowa, Daniel Ciskey of Chicago, Illinois and Amelia Love of Springfield, Missouri; and four great-grandchildren.

A graveside service will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, at Oakland Cemetery in Sandusky. Family and friends are invited to visit after the service at 11:30 a.m. at Berardi's Family Kitchen in Sandusky.