Obituary of Betty E. Beecher

Betty E. Beecher passed away on Sept. 29, 2012. She was born in Lafayette, Indiana on December 29, 1931 to Alfred and Vera Merkel. She attended St. James Lutheran School and graduated from Jefferson High School in 1949. She had worked a couple of jobs but was mostly a homemaker and raised three boys John, Mike and Eric. In 1985 Betty and her husband John Beecher Jr. moved to Santa Barbara, California where he worked for UCSB. Betty was a strong Christian and was involved in church as an organist and later the treasurer for the Women's Aglow Organization. She enjoyed sharing her faith in Jesus Christ and counseling friends in time of need. She was a member of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church. She is survived by two sons and their families. John (Vicki) and grandson Andrew of Lafayette, Indiana and Eric (Jill) and stepdaughter Stacy Johnson of Goleta. She is also survived by her brother Charles Merkel (Lynne) and sisters Lois Zuercher (Carl), Janet Hession (Edward). She is preceded in death by her husband John, middle son Mike and her sister Marilyn Hannemann of Florida. A memorial service will be held at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (380 North Fairview Ave., Goleta, CA) on Friday, October 5th at 3:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the Diabetes Research Foundation.