Pierre George Bettelli

Pierre George Bettelli passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on January 24, 2024. Pierre was born in Primero, Colorado in Las Animas County to Pete Bettelli and Teresa Corneli Bettelli from the province of Brescia, Italy.  He was raised in Coal Creek, Colorado and graduated from Florence High School in 1949 where he was a thespian, played football, baseball and tennis. He enlisted in the Air Force after high school, obtaining his pilot license in the Aviation Cadet Program and achieving the rank of Captain serving in the Strategic Air Command and Military Air Transport Command until 1968. He served in Korea and Vietnam, grossing over 10,000 hours of flight time flying B47s and C130s. One of the special moments of his flying career was leading a relief mission to deliver 10,000 pounds of food and clothes to the Hopi and Navajo tribes in northern Arizona in 1964.  

After his military career, he obtained bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business and information systems from CSU Pueblo and CSU Fort Collins. He taught programming and information systems at the University of Wisconsin Superior for 13 years, where the highlight of his career was teaching Arnold Schwarzenegger, who he considered an extremely intelligent and exceptional student. He was a professor of business and information systems at Mesa State College (Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado from 1985 to 1998 with the last 3 years serving as the Director of Management Information Systems. He was known for his sharp wit and challenging classes but he was also approachable and willing to help any student that reached out.

He was an avid collector of antiques and owned an antique business, The Heirloom Room, for many years with his wife Debbie Young-Bettelli. He donated his time as an antique appraiser to local organizations such as the Frontier Historical Society. From his days in Wisconsin, he loved hockey and was also an avid golfer who always had his clubs in the trunk of the car.

He is preceded in death by his parents and five siblings. He is survived by his wife, Deborah Young-Bettelli, his sister Miriam Junta (Anthony Junta - deceased), his step-children Heather Young (Larbi Assadki), Christopher Young and grandchildren Emilene and Clay Young who were the light of his life. He is also survived by his daughters Kathleen Prince, Stephanie Bettelli and Deborah Bettelli. To his friends, Pierre will be remembered for his huge personality and even bigger heart. To his kids and grandchildren, he was beloved Dad and cherished Grandpa that will be dearly missed.

The family would like to thank Bloom Hospice for all their support in making his last few months comfortable.