Ronald C. Betz

Ronald C. Betz

March 10, 1940 - December 11, 2017

Ronald C. Betz entered heaven on December 11, 2017 at his home in Noblesville, Indiana after a three-year battle with MDS.

Ron was born on March 10, 1940 in Muskegon, Michigan. He was the son of R.C. and Helen (Macy) Betz. Ron spent his childhood in Muskegon, eventually graduating from Muskegon High School. While in high school, he started working for GTE (now part of Verizon), where he worked for 36 years until accepting an early retirement offer in 1993. As he advanced in the company, job changes took him from Michigan to Indiana to Colorado and back to Indiana for his final position in Noblesville.

After retiring from GTE, Ron continued and grew his handyman business into Ron's Home Care and Repair. Due to his versatile skillset, his tireless work ethic, and his enjoyment in meeting the needs of others, he continued in this role for the rest of his life until his health condition caused him to retire a second time in 2017.

Ron met the love of his life, Kaye (Mezynski) Betz, in junior high band when some of his friends arranged for the bashful Ron to sit next to Kaye on a bus trip. They eventually married in 1961 and enjoyed more than 56 years of marriage together. They had four children: Ronda (Andy) Zirkle of Fishers, Indiana; Julie (Jim) Paschen of Kentwood, Michigan; Suzanne Betz of Simpsonville, South Carolina, and; Eric Betz (Carrie) of Bound Brook, New Jersey. He was also the proud "Papa" of seven grandchildren and spent much of the past 25 years traveling with Kaye and his vast collection of tools to and from Indiana to spend time with his children and grandchildren and complete various home repair and remodeling projects.

Ron was a man of deep faith. From an early age, his parents instilled in him the habits of faithful church attendance and personal devotions, and Ron led by example in teaching those same habits to his children. He was active in the churches he attended in the various cities where he lived, including serving as Deacon, Trustee, Sunday School Superintendent, and participating in various musical ministries.

Ron was a lover of music. He was introduced to playing a musical instrument when he was ten years old. He played an alto horn in the Salvation Army Band until he was 30 years old and played French horn in school bands for several years. He also played French horn and cornet in various church groups, as recently as the Fall of 2017. He passed this love of music to his family. Part of his joy in traveling to visit grandkids was to see them perform various recitals and concerts, as all of them have played musical instruments.

In addition to his wife, children, and grandchildren, Ron is also survived by four siblings: Dan Betz (Joyce); Linda (Doug) Yeck; David Betz (Sylvia), and; Mary (Paul) Duskin. Ron had two other siblings who were either stillborn or died on the day of their birth.

A memorial service to celebrate Ron's life will be held at Colonial Hills Baptist Church (8140 Union Chapel Road, Indianapolis, 46240) on Wednesday, December 20 at 11:00 a.m., with visitation preceding the service from 9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Colonial Christian School.