Betty J. (Gardner) Young, 80, of Bellefontaine, passed away at 2:03 p.m. on Wednesday, July 1, 2020, at her residence.
She was born on Feb. 26, 1940 in Rushsylvania, the daughter of the late Curtis S. and Irene (Laughman) Gardner. She was also preceded in death by a sister, Marjorie Gardner and a brother-in-law, Don Finley.
She is survived by her daughter, Kelli Westlake, two grandsons: Shayne Thomas and Devon Westlake, a sister, Dixie Finley, all of Bellefontaine, two brothers, Bill (Jackie) Gardner of Arizona, Robert (Betty) Gardner of Bellefontaine and several nieces and nephews.
Betty was a 1958 graduate of Bellefontaine High School and went on to serve her country in the U.S. Army Women’s Army Corp (WAC). There she was selected as Honor Graduate of the Clerical Procedure and Typing Course. She furthered her military career by completing weapon systems training at Martin Missile Master School in Orlando, Fla., where she graduated first in her class. She was one of the first women to serve in the Missile Guide System at Ft. Lawton, Wash., as part of the Army’s space age defense system in the 1960’s. She served as a guided missile radar expert assigned to the Air Defense Command at San Pedro, Calif. As a civilian, she was later employed by Lovett & Son’s, Inc. as comptroller for over 40 years until her retirement in 2003. She enjoyed watching Fox News daily, playing solitaire on her tablet, collecting dolls, and watching/bragging about her grandsons’ accomplishments.
Visitation will be from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 321 N. Main St., Bellefontaine.
The family asks that you be symptom-free and to please consider wearing a mask if attending.
Memorial contributions may be made to Universal Home Health & Hospice, 921 Rush Avenue, Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311, or to Logan County Cancer Society c/o Mary Rutan Foundations, 205 Palmer Avenue, Bellefontaine, Ohio 43311.
Eichholtz Daring & Sanford Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Bellefontaine, is honored to serve the Young family and encourages anyone to share a fond memory or message of condolence at www.edsfh.com.