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Robert Bettinger
ROBERT BETTINGER
Vinton
Robert Leroy "Bob" Bettinger, 82, died Thursday, March 2, 2017, at Virginia Gay Nursing & Rehab due to complications of Parkinson's disease.
Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. Monday, March 6, at Evergreen Cemetery in Vinton with Father Ardel Barta officiating. Visitation will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. Sunday, March 5, and from 10 to 10:45 a.m. Monday at Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home in Vinton.
Bob was born June 11, 1934, in Montgomery, Iowa, the son of Charles Wellington and Myrtle Thorn Bettinger. He attended school in Pine City, Minn.
On June 26, 1954, Bob was united in marriage with Pauline Kramer at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Belmond, Iowa.
Bob worked for National Tea and Ford Motor Co. in Minneapolis before moving to Iowa and opening a grocery store, The Red Owl, in Cresco. He and Pauline moved to Vinton in 1964 and owned and operated the
A & W for five years. He later worked in the Fareway meat department for five years and for Hawk Bilt for 10 years. After Hawk Bilt closed, Bob and Pauline opened Bob's Tastee Treats in La Porte City. They sold the business after 10 years and opened Bob's Diner in Vinton, which they operated for three years. The couple also owned rental properties in Vinton.
Bob was a member of Daybreakers Kiwanis Club in Vinton and volunteered at the Palace Theater.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Pauline, of Vinton; his children, Rhonda (Mike) Barron of Vinton, Rod (Lora) Bettinger of Tulsa, Okla., and Ron (Gail Hawkins) Bettinger of Olathe, Kan.; two sisters, Mae Manthey of Payson, Ariz., and June Jacobson of Pine City, Minn.; two brothers-in-law, Don (Maurine) Kramer of Chandler, Ariz., and Duane (Gini) Kramer of Houston, Texas; 13 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren, with three more on the way.
He was preceded in death by his parents; daughter, Rita Ann Bettinger-Brown; brother, Charles Bettinger; sister- and brother-in-law, Betty and Kenny Dreyer; and two brothers-in-law, Rufus Manthey and Herb Jacobson.
A memorial fund has been established.
Van Steenhuyse-Russell Funeral Home of Vinton is caring for Bob and his family. Condolences may be left at vsrfh.com.
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