William Charles Betts

BETTS William Charles Betts, age 78, of Shelton, entered into rest on Friday, October 29, 2010, surrounded by his loved ones, at Bridgeport Hospital. He is the devoted husband of 57 years of Diane Fletcher Betts. William was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on January 11, 1932, son of the late John Arnold and Grace Evangel (Hordern) Betts, and has lived in Shelton for over 40 years. He served in the RCAF as an Instrument Technician, from 1951 through 1956, after which he worked in the radiation gauging field as a Field and Application engineer with Curtiss Wright and Daystrom-Weston. In 1963, he joined IGCI in Norwalk as a project engineer, becoming chief engineer and then Vice President and, in 1974, was co-author of a paper presented before the IEEE on high-speed DC X-ray thickness gauging of metal strip. Subsequently, he became founder and president of Connecticut Industrial Gauging, which he ran for 20 years before retiring in 1997. He designed, built and installed industrial X-ray gauges, to control the thickness of metals produced in steel, brass and copper mills. Many of these gauges are still in service, worldwide. William was a fisherman and outdoorsman and, since retirement, derived great pleasure from his morning forays to Osbornedale Park, where he enjoyed the friendship of many fellow retirees. He was also an avid Rangers hockey fan. He is the beloved father of Paul William Betts, Allan John Betts and his wife Sharon, and Evan Charles Betts. He also leaves a beloved sister, Clarice Archer; six cherished grandchildren, Adam, Emily, Michael and David Betts and Rachelle and Carrie Mauriello; two great grandchildren, Dylesia and Hunter, and several nieces and nephews, one of whom, Rob Archer, was a fishing buddy. He was predeceased by a brother, James Betts and a sister, Evelyn Colling. Friends are invited to greet the family at the Riverview Funeral Home, 390 River Road, Shelton, on Saturday, November 20th from 1 to 2 p.m. A memorial service will be celebrated at the funeral home at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Diabetes Association, 306 Industrial Park Rd., Middletown, CT 06457 or to the American Lung Association, 1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004..