Person Page 2,427

Obituary -- (Findagrave.com):

John Randolph Bettis ORANGEBURG - John Randolph Bettis died peacefully at home at The Oaks on Tuesday, February 1, 2011. He was born in Greenville, SC on August 20, 1917, to Zeb Vance Bettis and Alice Reamey Bettis.

He attended Furman University and transferred to Clemson College where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. In June of 1941, he married Louise Murray Cauthen, and they moved to Charleston where he began work as an engineer for the Charleston Water Works. Shortly after beginning work, he had to report for duty as an Army officer where he served with the 1st Army. He went in on D-Day via Omaha Beach, and he was also in the Battle of the Bulge. After World War II he served in the Army Reserves and retired in 1964. In 1945 John and Louise returned to Charleston.

He worked for the Charleston Water Works for 45 years and retired as General Manager and Chief Engineer. Mr. Bettis served as a national director of the American Water Works Association and as president of the Southeastern section of AWWA.

He received the Fuller Award and the Wiedeman Award, the two highest awards given by AWWA, and was recognized for 50 years of service to that organization. Mr. Bettis was a director of the Water Pollution Control Board and served as president of the state association.

He was on the Salvation Army Advisory Board of Charleston for 45 years and served as president. He was a member of the South Carolina Society and a member and past president of the St. Andrews Society of Charleston.

He was a longtime member and past president of the Charleston Rotary Club, where he received the Paul Harris award. For 60 years Mr. Bettis was a member of Asbury Memorial Methodist Church, now Asbury-St. James, where he served in most of the offices and activities of his church.

In 2001 John and Louise moved to The Methodist Oaks in Orangeburg, SC where they made many new friends and kept in touch with old friends. Louise, his wife of 69 and a half years, died on January 16, 2011. Their son, John Randolph Bettis, Jr., died in 1999, and John was also predeceased by his brother, Vance Reamey Bettis.

He is survived by three children, Anne, Vance, and Susan; daughters-in-law Linda Bettis and Gena Bettis; son-in-law Nick Fairhurst; seven grandchildren, Rachel Bettis, Libby Compton, Andrew Bettis, Zeb Compton, Sadie Bettis, Margaret Fairhurst, and Thomas Fairhurst; sisters-in-law Sara Shelley, Margaret Corvette, Edith Cauthen, and Lucy Bettis; brother-in-law Rutledge Corvette; 16 nieces and nephews. The family wants to thank his loving caregivers: Emma Hart, Joan Sanders, Nancy Sanders, Ella Shuler, Cynthia Ritter, and Barbara Summers.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Guardian Angel Fund at The Oaks, Box 9005, Orangeburg, SC 29116 or to the Salvation Army. There will be a Memorial Service at the chapel at The Oaks on Sunday, February 6, 2011, at 3 p.m.

Interment will be at Beaufort National Cemetery at a later date.

Published in Charleston Post & Courier on February 3, 2011.

Obituary -- (Findagrave.com):

Louise Murray Cauthen Bettis died peacefully at home on Sunday, January 16, 2011. She was born on January 23, 1919 in Rowesville, SC to Wallace Jackson Cauthen and Minnie Murray Cauthen. She graduated from Winthrop College in 1939 and taught grammar school in Ellerbee, NC for two years. She stayed home to take care of her family until their youngest child was in school, and then she went back to her career as an educator. She was a classroom teacher, principal, and a member of the Charleston District 20 School Board.

Dukes-Harley Funeral Home and Crematory - Orangeburg, SC.