Jon Heath Betts

Jon Heath Betts died on Friday, July 28, 2023.  Jon was born in Richmond, VA on April 9, 1938, the second of two sons of Arnold W. Betts and Emily Orschel. 

Jon graduated from Benedictine High School in 1956 and attended Virginia Tech (then VPI) for his undergraduate degree.  Jon joined the first cohort of the US Peace Corps in 1963 and served as a math teacher in Nigeria from 1963-1965 at the St. Maria Goretti School for Girls in Benin City, Nigeria.  On returning from the Peace Corps, Jon enrolled in a Master’s program in Industrial Engineering at Virginia Tech and earned a degree in 1967.  Eager to go overseas again, he worked for the humanitarian organization, CARE International in Dacca, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).  It was there that he met Patricia Ann Betts, and they were married in Richmond in August 1970. Pat and Jon purchased property known as Level Green in Powhatan, VA in 1971.  They had three daughters, Yvonne, Fiona, and Emily. Jon worked for the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond and then Virginia Commonwealth University.  He also was pivotal in helping Pat establish Level Green in 1981 and supported the riding school’s growth and success. 

Jon is survived by daughters Yvonne Holliday (Daniel, Alex, Zoe, Thomas), Fiona Turner (Jay, Hugh, Helen, Bowen), Emily Betts (Asheley Tuck, James), sisters-in-law Diana Tamkin and Gillian Frasier.  Jon is preceded in death by his wife Pat, his parents, brother Bruce Betts and grandson Heath Christopher Turner.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Friends of Nigeria (www.friendsofnigeria.org) or Boaz and Ruth (www.boazandruth.com).   A wake service will be held Friday, August 4, 2023 at 6PM and the funeral mass will be Saturday, August 5, 2023 at 10:30AM.  Both will be held at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Powhatan, VA.