Clifford Aull Betts, Jr. died peacefully on April 19, 2017, at his home in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A native of Chattanooga, he was born on November 22, 1930. Clifford Betts was the son of Alma Roberts Betts and Clifford A. Betts, Sr. He attended Normal Park School and graduated from McCallie School in 1948. He earned his bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. Betts received his master’s in civil and structural engineering from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He served as First Lieutenant Assistant Air Installations Officer in the United States Air Force – Air Defense Command from 1953 until 1955.
At the age of 16, he started working for his father on the land survey party under the legendary Ben Love. In 1955, he joined his father at Betts Engineering Co. Founded by his grandfather, Edward E. Betts, in 1885, Betts Engineering Associates played an important role in the development of the Chattanooga area. In 1970, Clifford Betts became president of the company, and well into the twenty-first century, Betts Engineering continued a tradition of improving the quality of life for people in the Chattanooga area.
The scope of Betts’ contributions included a wide variety of projects in Tennessee and Georgia, including a four-year project with the late Jim Franklin at Fall Creek Falls State Park, where Betts provided the site design, roads, utilities, bridges, and landscaping. He received national recognition from the American Institute of Steel Construction for beautiful bridges for the design of Newton’s Ford Bridge. Betts also received national recognition for the design of the concrete storm water recycling of the 10-acre parking lot at Finley Stadium. He also worked with Jim Franklin and Vance Travis on the original Miller Park Plaza project, for which he designed the fountains and landscape. Other contributions included projects at Lake Winnepesaukah, Veterans Bridge, the perennial hillside garden at Chattanooga Golf & Country Club for which he received an award from the Tennessee Board of Landscape, the Episcopal Church's Grace Point youth camp near Kingston, TN, and design work for the Templeton Library at the University of the South. Perhaps his favorite project was when he was selected to be part of the team, which included his good friend Vance Travis, that designed the 1996 Olympics whitewater course on the Ocoee River.
In a recent Times Free Press article about the Ocoee project, written by family friend Mark Wiedmer, Betts was described as one of “the smartest men I’ve ever known and without question the best example of a Renaissance man the Scenic City will ever know.”
As consultant to Provident Life and Accident Insurance Co., Betts revived the practice of street tree planting, consulted with the City of Chattanooga on many new plantings in the city, and served on the committee that hired Gene Hyde as City Forester. Betts was a partner to create a master plan for the Chattanooga National Cemetery. He was proud of family contributions to the city of Chattanooga with his grandfather and father. His grandfather E. E. Betts was the first engineer to work on the creation of Chickamauga Battlefield (first in the country) and was the construction engineer on the Walnut Street Bridge.
Betts served for 12 years on the original board of directors for the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport Authority, and on the committee with Jim Hudson overseeing the design and construction of the new terminal. He served on the board of directors for the Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, the Tennessee River Gorge Preservation, Reflection Riding Foundation, Chattanooga Tree Commission, Mountain City Club, the North River Review, and the Rotary Club of Chattanooga. He was a third generation Rotarian, as his grandfather was a founding member of the Rotary Club of
Chattanooga.
Betts was a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church for 56 years, serving on the Vestry for 12 years, serving two terms as Senior Warden, one as Junior Warden, and serving as Lay Reader, Eucharistic Minister, and Sunday school teacher. In the mid 1970s, he worked closely with Klaus Nentwig on the design for Key Andrews Hall. He was instrumental in the search for the proper Casavant pipe organ, which was installed at the church in the 1980’s. With Bill Wilkerson of Derthick, Henley and Wilkerson AIA, he designed the church’s Memorial Garden and labyrinth, and later the fountain sculpture along with the seasonal changes for the garden. Until 2001, he designed the 7th Street walls and garden and landscape design for building proper. He was instrumental in restoring use of the ring of bells at St. Paul’s, and he played the bells for many years, particularly for festival services.
In his younger years, he played classical piano, was a wonderful artist, enjoyed tennis, whitewater canoeing, skiing, bird hunting with his hunting companion, golden retriever Balfour; hiking the Appalachian Trail, and continued to deepen his knowledge and appreciation for music. He was a lifelong learner, an avid reader, historian, nature enthusiast, and with his wife Sally took five years of summer courses at Cambridge University, England.
Betts was preceded in death by his beautiful wife of 60 years, Julia Martin “Sally” Betts.
He is survived by his daughters, Katherine Elizabeth Betts of Chattanooga, Summer Betts Booker (Archer) of Greenwood, South Carolina, and Julie Betts Brandao of Chattanooga; four grandchildren, Julia Caroline Booker of Brooklyn, New York; Archer "Trey" Booker of Austin, Texas; Anna Katherine “Katie” Brandao and Emma Caroline Brandao, both of Chattanooga; his brother, Frank Roberts Betts of Athens, GA; and his niece, Lauren Betts.
The family wishes to thank dear family and friends for their love and support. Additional blessings of gratitude to Roberta Gaddis, friend and caregiver Tina Buniak, the Outreach and Pastoral Care teams from St. Paul’s Church, and Hospice of Chattanooga, specifically Dr. Galina Radar, Cheryl Brewer, Faedra McKitrick, Angela Tomlin, and Chaplain Christy Bonner.
Additional gratitude for Home Instead Senior Care, with special thanks to Becky Thomas, Donna Chambliss, Beth Lawson, Jackie Johnson, Bridget Fino, Lacy Jack, Allyson Crawford, Jahreece Radden, Bevin Hallett and Chloe Walker.
Betts requested that memorial contributions be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, McCallie School, Girls Preparatory School, Hospice of Chattanooga, or a charity of one’s choice.
The funeral service will be conducted at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church with The Reverend Brad Whitaker officiating and assisted by The Reverends Quinn Parman and H. Hunter Huckabay, Jr. The family will receive friends prior to the service at 9:30
a.m. at St. Paul’s, 305 West 7th Street, Chattanooga.
Arrangements are by Hamilton Funeral Home & Cremation Services.