Philip James Betleski

August 5, 1956-July 1, 2025

Phil Betleski was born in Lorain, Ohio to Eileen (Curran) and Adrian F. Betleski at St. Joseph Hospital and made his early home at 1723 East Erie Avenue. He attended St. Anthony School where he was taught and nurtured by Franciscan nuns and priests. He was a fun-loving and sports-loving boy who ran with the neighborhood families, sustaining friendships with the Baxters, Evanses, and Reagans, among many others. Lake Erie was a predominant feature of their play and when someone older couldn't watch the boys swim at their own beaches, they'd resort to diving and swimming under the lifeguard's care at Century Park.

Phil was among the first set of students to attend the newly created Lorain Catholic High School, where the curriculum and sports programs offered great challenges at a beautiful and innovative facility with devoted faculty and staff. He was part of a rock-and-roll band during those years, playing drums and having a blast with good friends and the occasional hope for a paying gig.

He graduated from LCHS in 1974 and followed his older siblings (and father) to The Ohio State University, residing in the salt & pepper shaker dorms on West Campus and studying computer science. A whole new world opened up for him with the study of mathematics and computing programs. He stretched out his time in Columbus, working and learning, but broke off his degree program to pursue a business opportunity that took him to Los Angeles as a Domino's Pizza business manager and later owner. It was at this time that he met his wife, Mckim Sweeney, fell in love, and married in 1985. They worked and raised a family of daughters in Lancaster, California and later in Vidor, Texas.

Following a separation from Mckim, Phil returned to Lorain in the 1990s, finished his computer science degree at Cleveland State, and began a new chapter in employment. A pervasive feature in his life was public service, easily attributable to his father's influence and a love of Lorain. He began work in the Lorain County Auditor's Office and eventually enrolled in the certificate program in Urban Geographic Information Systems at CSU in order to enhance county information. Democratic Party politics became a mainstay in his life, eventually leading to winning a seat on the Lorain City Council for the Second Ward, serving from 2004-2007. In addition, Phil served as Assistant County Recorder for several terms.

Phil moved to the Pacific Northwest in 2012, reuniting his family with Mckim and his daughters, Amber, Falyn, and Chrystal Rose. As the years passed, the Betleski family in Lacey, Washington grew with marriages and grandchildren and Phil became a grandpa to Orion & Onyx, Foster & Rileigh, and was especially close with his youngest grandson, Harley. He indoctrinated all of them with his love of candy-especially Faroh's chocolates-and sports-watching, keeping his allegiance to the Cleveland Browns while adding a love for the Seattle Seahawks. Even as a transplanted Ohioan, he never gave up on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Phil was preceded in death by his father, Adrian Francis Betleski in 2010 and his mother, Eileen Curran Betleski in 2011. He is survived by Mckim, his daughters and their husbands, Amber and Chad Axtmann, Falyn Betleski, and Chrystal and Clark Merling, his grandsons Onyx and Orion Klimek and Harley Storer and granddaughters Foster and Rileigh Merling. In addition, he is survived by his siblings, Clinton Betleski, Rosanne and W. Gregory Berton, Adrian F. and Diane Betleski, and The Hon. Mark A. and Suzanne Betleski, as well as nephews and nieces, Adrian D. Betleski, Joseph C. and Brandi Betleski, Theresa Betleski Trimble, Eleanor C. Berton, Kieran J. Berton, and great-nieces Seven and River Betleski. Phil also leaves behind a wonderful, extended family of Power, Curran, and Bett cousins across the mid-Ohio landscape, southern California, and the greater Atlantic seaboard. We will all miss him terribly, remembering his laugh, his incredibly well-timed jokes, and his daily acts of love.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, August 3, 2025 at 7:00 pm in the Rose Garden at Squaxin Park in Olympia, Washington. A graveside blessing and inurnment will be held at Ridge Hill Memorial Park, Amherst, Ohio on Saturday, September 20 at 1:00 pm with a reception to follow at St. Teresa de Avila Parish Center in Sheffield, Ohio.