- Date Of Birth: December 10, 1931
- Date Of Death: July 28, 2015
- State: Florida
Thomas Marion Betts, Jr. died Tuesday, July 28, 2015. Born in Quincy, FL in 1931, Mr. Betts was a 1950 graduate of Gadsden County High School. He attended Florida State University from 1950 to 1951 and became a member of the National Guard before enlisting in the US Army in 1952.
He served in the Korean War and was commissioned an officer in 1952. After receiving an honorable discharge in 1953 he married his loving wife Patricia Brown, whom he met on a blind date in 1954. He joined the Florida Highway Patrol in 1957 and spent 28 years serving his State and Nation, retiring as a Major in 1983. He continued his service in the National Guard, retiring in 1980 after 31 years of service as a Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Betts was also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, KS and the FBI National Academy in Washington, DC.
He and Patty have five children: Monti Brown and husband Ian, Thomas Betts III and wife Dee, Patrick Betts, Susan Davis and husband Emory, Matthew Betts and wife Dana; fourteen grandchildren: Erin Brown Horne, Caitlin Brown Smith, Molly Brown Cawthon, Jason Betts, Lily Betts Starr, Thomas Betts IV, Brooks Betts, Colson Betts, Sean Betts, Garth Betts, Melissa Davis Lewis, Kyle Davis, Macayle Betts Kiger, and Sawyer Betts; six great-grandchildren: Ashlyn Horne, Avery Horne, Ansley Smith, Liv Betts, Quinn Betts, and Carter Lewis. He loved God, family, and country. He loved to fish, hunt, and watch FSU football.
