John Bethel

Services for John E. Bethel, 92, Merriam, will be 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at Amos Family Funeral Home, Shawnee. Burial will be at Shawnee Mission Memory Gardens, Shawnee.
Mr. Bethel died Saturday, Oct. 1, 2011, at his home with his three daughters present.
He was born May 13, 1919, at Warrensburg, Mo., the son of Sarah Luvina and John Franklin Bethel.
Mr. Bethel served as a navigator in the U.S. Army Air Corps, flying more than 2,000 hours delivering bombers and transport aircraft in every theater of World War II. He was honorably discharged as a captain in 1946.
When his tour of duty ended, he attended what is now University of Missouri-Kansas City, graduating in 1950 with a degree in accounting. He retired after 35 years with the Carter-Waters Corp., where he served as secretary-treasurer.
Mr. Bethel was a faithful member of Merriam Christian Church, where he served as an elder among other leadership positions. He also was an active member and served as past president of both the Kansas City Optimist Club and the Kansas City Wholesale Credit Association.
He married Josephine Hitt, Murfreesboro, Tenn., in 1944. She died in 2005.
Survivors include a sister, Lucille Van Zant, Prairie Village; three daughters, Virginia C. Bethel, Merriam, Francie E. Bethel, Shawnee, and Katherine D. Wilson (George), Overland Park; seven grandchildren; and 14 great-grandchildren.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 6, at the funeral home.
The family suggests memorials to Merriam Christian Church, 9401 Johnson Drive, Merriam, KS 66203 or Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care, 9221 Ward Pkwy., Suite 100, Kansas City, MO 64114.
Online condolences can be left at amosfamily.com.