Bettis, Richard (Born 1947)

Richard A. Bettis (Rich) was born in Portsmouth, Ohio, on 22 November 1947. His mother, Sarah L. Bettis, was a housewife and former bank cashier. His father, Charles F. Bettis, was a Second World War veteran who worked as a draftsman, earning what was described at the time as ‘a good living’. Although Bettis senior was interested in anything scientific or mathematical, neither he nor his wife attended college, which was a source of regret for them both. The family lived initially in the maternal grandmother’s home, and in 1951 Bettis’ brother James was born. When his father died suddenly of a heart attack in 1960 his mother returned to work as a bank cashier. Bettis meanwhile attended public schools, where he received high grades and excelled in science and maths. He also loved playing baseball and basketball and was a member of the school tennis team. Following graduation from high school in 1965 he enrolled in Ohio State University engineering college, majoring in Engineering...