Obituaries
Otto John Betz III, 75, of Cornwall
“Before the gates of excellence the high gods have placed sweat”
— Hesiod
CORNWALL — Otto John Betz III, 75, known as Doppy, Otto, John, and O.J. to the many people who loved him, died surrounded by his wife and children on Jan. 22, 2023, from pneumonia while battling pancreatic cancer. As always, he was in contact with his nine grandkids and made sure his football bets were in before he went up.
Doppy was born May 11, 1947, in Mineola, N.Y. He grew up in Garden City, N.Y., graduated from Kent School, Kent, Conn., (where he was the high scorer of the ice hockey team), and then briefly attended Boston University. After failing out of college in grand style, he attended Paris Island. He honorably served with his beloved United States Marine Corps in Vietnam from 1968-1969. He was wounded in action and earned two purple hearts. After convalescing for a year, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania.
He married his favorite wife, Anna, in 1971. Doppy worked for the Bank of New York for over 15 years, four of which were spent exploring pubs and golf courses while running the Bank of New York in London. In the mid 80’s, after tiring of the NYC commute, he made a switch to financial advising in their hometown of Garden City and retired from Morgan Stanley in 2009. He and Anna moved to Cornwall, Vt., where he loved being able to watch college sports just down the road. He was on the board of HOPE, volunteered for SCORE and was a member of the Middlebury Town and Gown.
Doppy and Anna loved exploring the world and their most recent trip was to Costa Rica, where they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary (a couple COVID years late) with their entire family. Always an avid golfer, Doppy served as president of the Garden City Golf Club GC, N.Y., his favorite golf course. In addition to golfing and traveling, he loved fly fishing (never caught much), boat rides at his Adirondack family camp, dump runs, and giving his grandkids Doppy talks. He was also a wiz at making tacos dorado on the grill.
In addition to his wife, Anna, Doppy is survived by his children: Emily, Starksboro, Vt.; Otto IV (Billie), Holmdel, N.J.; and Bill (Sally), Darien, Conn.; nine grandchildren; and two brothers, Bob, Williston, Vt.; and Alex, Burlington, Vt.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to Porter Medical Center in Middlebury, Vermont, where Doppy and his family received exceptional care. www.portermedical.org/donate/
A celebration of life will be held in the Spring when the Shad blooms.◊
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