William Earle Betts Jr.

William Earle "Ping" Betts Jr.

William Earle "Ping" Betts Jr., 98, Lynchburg, died Tuesday, December 29, 2009.

He was predeceased by his wife of 50 years, Eloise (Buke) Brown Davis Betts; and his only daughter, Heloise Betts Wall. In addition to his late wife and daughter, he was predeceased by a sister, Virginia Betts Armistead Hotchkiss; and by his granddaughter, Dallas Tucker Betts.

Born August 7, 1911, a native of Richmond, he was the son of the late William Earle Betts and Dora Shufelt Betts.

He is survived by two sons, William Ashby Davis and his wife, Jane, of Lynchburg, and William Earle Betts III and his wife, Nicole, of Free Union; his son-in-law, James C. Wall, of Charlottesville; nine grandchildren, Caroline Davis Malott, Susannah Davis Cox, William Ashby Davis Jr., Noah Betts Wall, Mary Singleton Wall, Paloma Angelica Wall, Margaret Houston Betts, William Spencer Betts, and Anne Coalter Betts; seven great-grandchildren, Sarah Ashby Malott, Jane Hampton Malott, John Dawson Malott, Gabriel Chadwick Cox, Michael Alan Davis, William Ashby Davis III and Corinne Belle Cox. Mr. Betts is also survived by one sister, Jean Betts Wiltshire and her husband, Richard, of Richmond; and by his driver-companion and friend, George Phelps; his secretary and special friend, Sara Curtis; and by his faithful friend and caregiver, Dora Hendricks. Also surviving are his dedicated caregivers, Phyllis Carter, Carrie Johnson and Fannie Humphries.

Mr. Betts lettered in varsity football at Virginia Tech and graduated first in his Architectural Engineering Class of 1932. As an undergraduate, he was elected to Phi Kappa Phi and Tau Beta Pi and was a member of the German Club and the Monogram Club.

After earning his M.S. degree in Structural Engineering at Virginia Tech in 1933, Mr. Betts became a Registered Architect in 1934. In 1938 in Lynchburg, he and his friend, A. P. Montague Jr., founded Montague-Betts Company, a structural steel fabricator of a number of major construction projects including New York's World Trade Center. Mr. Betts became Chairman of the company in 1956 following the death of Mr. Montague and has remained in the position since that time.

During World War II, Mr. Betts was an officer in the United States Army Corps of Engineers, attaining the rank of Captain while serving 39 months in the European Theater. He was among the troops that landed on Omaha Beach during the Allied invasion of Europe at Normandy, France, and was awarded both the Bronze Star by the United States War Department and Croix de Guerre by the French.

He served as director on several professional boards including those of the American Institute of Steel Construction, Virginia-Carolinas Fabricators Association- President, National Association of Manufacturers, United States Business and Industrial Council, Central Virginia Industries, and United Virginia Bank/Crestar/Sun Trust.

Mr. Betts had been an active civic leader, serving on the boards of the Lynchburg Chamber of Commerce, Lynchburg Area Development Corporation-President, and the Bedford County Public Service Authority. He had been the Director of the Lynchburg Area United Givers Fund (United Way) and of the Lynchburg Fine Arts Center, was a founder and the first President of the Piedmont Club, a Director Emeritus of the Boonsboro Country Club, and was a faithful member of the Virginia Historical Society. Mr. Betts was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry.

In service to education, he was a Life Trustee of Lynchburg College and of the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, and a member of the board of the Virginia Episcopal School and of the President's Committee of Randolph-Macon Woman's College.

Also active on behalf of his alma mater, Mr. Betts was a past Director of the Virginia Tech Educational Foundation, and a Former member of the University's Alumni Association Board. He was a charter member of the Rowe Fellow Program, and member of the Ut Prosim Society and the College of Engineering Committee of 100. He was also on the Virginia Tech President's Council Membership Committee for Lynchburg and served on the Lynchburg-Amherst-Nelson Regional Capital Campaign Committee. In 1975, Virginia Tech recognized his efforts by presenting Mr. Betts with the Virginia Tech Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award, and in 1983 he received the College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award.

In 1984 Mr. Betts endowed the Montague-Betts Professorship in Structural Engineering at Virginia Tech. In 1998, the department of Civil Engineering selected Mr. Betts for induction as a charter member of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni and in 1999, the College of Engineering inducted him as a charter member of the Academy of Engineering Excellence.

In May, 2005, Virginia Tech's Board of Visitors named Mr. Betts recipient of the William H. Ruffner Medal, the university's highest honor awarded annually to an alumnus in recognition of outstanding service and generosity to the university.

In November, 2005, Mr. Betts was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame for his contributions to private enterprise, success in business and community contributions and involvement in the Lynchburg area.

A private burial will be held at Good Shepherd Cemetery, Evington.

A memorial service will be conducted 2:30 p.m. Saturday, January 2, 2010, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 200 Boston Avenue, Lynchburg, with the Reverend Robert K. Marshall officiating, a reception to follow at the parish hall.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to The Greater Lynchburg Community Trust, 101 Paulette Circle, Suite B, Lynchburg, VA 24502 or the charity of your choice.

Tharp Funeral Home and Crematory, Lynchburg, is assisting the family, (434) 237-9424.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.tharpfuneralhome.co m.


This obituary was originally published in the Daily Progress.