CLEVELAND, Ohio -- John Betchkal, an executive at General Electric Lighting, took on leadership roles and came up with a plan to light up monuments across Cleveland and eventually the nation. He died on June 28 at the age of 88. Betchkal was born in Milwaukee in 1936, the only child of George and Ruth Betchkal.
His father was a travel agent, and his mother was a high school home economics teacher. The family lived in Racine, Wisconsin, before relocating to Cleveland when Betchkal was 10. As a child, Betchkal played street hockey.
He found a lifelong friend in . They would go on to work together and serve in the U.S.
Army side by side. Betchkal attended Cleveland Heights High School, where he ran track and wrote for the school newspaper. Decades later, he would be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
While still a student there, Betchkal began writing for the Cleveland Press, covering high school football games. He would continue to write for the paper while at Ohio State University. John Betchkal While in college, Betchkal joined ROTC, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after graduating.
He served for two years in Fort Bragg, at the Special Warfare Center, where he edited the newsletter. “He was proud of his service but he was ready to get back to civilian life,” said his wife, Kathleen Betchkal. “He really wanted to get back to the newspaper.
” After his first tour of duty, Betchkal returned to the Cleveland Press, covering the federal government beat. “His lifelong motto was ‘Always tell the truth and be good to people,’” said his daughter, Joan Betchkal. “I think he did that through journalism.
He valued integrity above all else.” But in 1961, he was recalled to the Army, to serve in Central America. Around this time, he met his future wife, Kathleen, a flight attendant.
Betchkal, who was tall and slim, and wore glasses that framed twinkly blue eyes, approached Kathleen upon seeing her in an airport gift shop. The pair had a two-year courtship before marrying. In 1963, Betchkal joined GE Lighting.
His career there spanned three decades; he retired in 1996. He worked in public relations, eventually becoming manager of communications and public affairs. Betchkal came up with the idea to use GE lights to light up local monuments around Cleveland.
Some of those monuments included the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Amasa Stone Chapel, Severance Hall, the West Side Market, Notre Dame College, John Carroll University’s Grasselli Tower, and many others. The campaign was a success and soon Betchkal was lighting up national monuments. “He brought this idea forward of a way to enhance the beauty of the city and landmarks around the country while using the products from GE Lighting,” said Kathleen Betchkal.
“It was a community-centered activity and a legacy that would last forever.” The national monuments he lit up included the Golden Gate Bridge, the Washington Monument, Mount Rushmore, the Alamo, Thomas Edison’s birthplace, and the Statue of Liberty. John Betchkal In 1987, Betchkal joined the board of directors of the Christmas Pageant of Peace, an annual holiday celebration held in Washington, D.
C. He served on the board for nearly two decades, and from 1994 to 1998 he served as president of the board. On several occasions, he introduced Bill Clinton and George W.
Bush at the Pageant’s tree-lighting ceremony in the Ellipse, the park south of the White House. In successive years, he joined both Tipper Gore and Hillary Clinton in a cherry picker to place an ornament on top of the Christmas tree. Every year, he invited entertainers to come and perform, including Aretha Franklin, Patti LaBelle, Renée Fleming, and Trisha Yearwood.
“He did all the logistics; the entire event, he was in charge of it,” said Kathleen Betchkal. “He deeply believed in the purpose of the pageant, which was sending a message of true peace and trying to unite people in America,” Joan Betchkal said. John Betchkal Somehow, Betchkal found the time to work as a spotter for NBC at Cleveland Browns games.
He sat between the announcers and kept them informed about what was happening on the football field. It was a position he held for 25 years. “It was great fun,” Kathleen Betchkal said.
John Betchkal working as a spotter Betchkal was deeply devoted to several Cleveland organizations. For a decade, he served as director of the Press Club, and he established the Chuck Heaton Award for recognizing excellence in journalism. He served on the board of directors of the Lexington Square Community Center, trying to find housing for those in need.
He was involved with Karamu House, a community theater in Cleveland, and Hope Lodge, which provides accommodations to those seeking medical help for cancer. He served as the director and president of the board of trustees of the Urban Community School and on the board of Notre Dame College in South Euclid. “He would champion people who needed a leg up, who needed extra support.
And he would find ways to provide support for them both formally and informally. He was really good at finding resources for projects that otherwise might not have been successful,” Joan Betchkal said. Beyond his professional accomplishments and volunteer work, Betchkal will be remembered for his mischievous sense of humor and his gregarious nature.
“He was funny, he was engaging, he was super genuine. He could talk to anyone,” Joan Betchkal said..
