Wallace E Betts

Wallace Earl Betts, 95, of Carson, CA, died on Sept. 20, 2020, at Harbor General Hospital, after a long and fulfilling life spent in the company of those he loved.

A lifelong resident of the South Bay, Wally was born in San Pedro in 1925 to Lillian May Anderson and Orville Richard Betts. He grew up an only child amid the depravations of the Great Depression and attended Poly High School in Long Beach. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, with his father required to sign for him since he was underage. He served his country in the Second World War and fought in the South Pacific on the USS New Mexico (BB-40), participating in the liberation of the Philippines from Imperial Japanese occupation. He received an honorable discharge with the rank of Seaman First Class.

Wally returned home after the war, and in 1949, he began what would be a 37-year career with General Motors. On Dec. 11, 1954, he married the love of his life, Patricia Vivian King. Together, they settled in Torrance and raised three children — Sandra, Wallace John, and Rebecca. He coached his son’s Little League baseball teams, as well as his daughter’s AYSO soccer team — despite knowing nothing about the sport then new to America — after she and her friends persuaded him to take the job. He was a member of the Wilmington, Angels Gate, and Redondo Beach Masonic Lodges and was active with the International Order of the Rainbow for Girls.

Throughout his life, Wally cultivated many hobbies and interests. He was an avid fisherman, an amateur pilot, a handyman with the Palos Verdes Bay Club, a collector of Dodgers memorabilia, a part-time photographer who shot the Long Beach Miss America pageant and a travel buff who visited many U.S. states, along with Mexico and the Bahamas. He was a great lover of Hollywood Westerns, especially those of his favorite actor John Wayne, and an incorrigible coffee addict in the habit of heading to bed with a cup of joe in hand. Personable and generous, he welcomed those without a place to stay into his family’s home and helped them find jobs.

In his later years, Wally was a warm and loving grandpa to his two grandsons, Bryan and Eric. He made every effort to attend their Little League games, even though they lived on the other side of the country, and delighted them with stories. With them, he visited just about every museum in LA County. After he suffered a stroke in 2005, his daughter Rebecca, with help from his other children, cared for him, and he credited her for his longevity and good health.

Wally always said it was his goal to live to 100, and while he didn’t quite make it, his family is grateful for the many years they had with him. They will remember sharing his favorite meal of biscuits and gravy, his fondness for cherry pie over birthday cake, the lazy afternoons spent playing rummy and dominoes together, the trips to see a ballgame at Dodger Stadium. They love him and will miss him.

Wally was predeceased by his parents and by his wife of 42 years (July 1997). He is survived by his three children (Sandy, Wally and Becky), his daughter-in-law Kasey, and his two grandsons (Bryan and Eric).

No funeral will be held due to COVID-19 concerns. In lieu of flowers, donations to defray burial cost will be greatly appreciated and can be made through his family.