Gary Bettenhausen (1961-2021)

BETTENHAUSEN, BIELBY, MCBURNEY

Posted By: Ken Wright (email)
Date: 6/13/2021 at 21:30:04

Gary Bettenhausen

August 14, 1961-May 25, 2021

On Tuesday, May 25, 2021, Gary Bettenhausen, loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 59.

Gary was born on August 14, 1961, in Blue Island, Illinois, to Patricia Bielby née McBurney and Gary Bettenhausen. He and his wife, Laura, have been together since they were both 17 and were married on July 7, 1984. They raised two sons, Daniel (31) and Matthew (28).

Gary began his career at Venture department store, working his way up to store manager. This brought him and his family to Bettendorf, Iowa, where they built their life for the past 28 years. In 2004, Gary became a realtor and worked at Ruhl & Ruhl the past 17 years.

He was a Chicago sports fan all his life, but more than anything, loved watching his sons compete; when they were on the field, he was in the stands. He was also proud of his family racing heritage and attended the Indy 500 every year. Gary was the consummate host and always in his element when throwing parties and entertaining his friends and family. Whenever you walked through his door you became family.

Gary was preceded in death by his father, Gary Bettenhausen, and stepmother, Georgia Militello. He is survived by his wife, Laura; two sons, Daniel and Matthew; daughter-in-law, Caroline; mother, Patricia Bielby; stepfather, Joseph Militello; stepmother, Wavelyn Bettenhausen; sister, Louise (John) Sarna; brothers, Todd and Carey (Dana) Bettenhausen; step-sisters, Chrissy (Jay) Cmelo and Vicki Kapsalis; and several nieces and nephews.

A celebration of life will be Saturday, June 19th, at Modern Woodman Park in Davenport, Iowa, from 12:00–4:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests you make a donation in his name to Wright-Way Rescue (wright-wayrescue.org). This is the shelter where his granddog, Rosie, was adopted.

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Published by Quad-City Times on Jun. 13, 2021.