Ronald James “Ron” Bethel

Published 12:14 am Saturday, March 7, 2015

TYLER, Texas — Ronald James “Ron” Bethel, 59, beloved husband, father, son, brother and in-law, uncle and friend soared into heaven on March 3, 2015 as a result of a traffic accident in Atlanta.

Memorial services are today, March 7, 2015, at 2 p.m. at Stewart Family Funeral Home in Tyler with the Rev. Stephanie Scott officiating. Visitation will be at 1 p.m., one hour prior to the service.

Ron was born on July 12, 1955 in Key West, Fla., to the late Dolores Kollars Bethel DeMarco and Herman H. Bethel.

Ronald James
“Ron” Bethel

He married the love of his life, Cherlyn Hunt Bethel, whom he affectionately called “Baby Doll,” and was her “Honey Honies,” on May 2, 1987 in Vicksburg.

By the grace of God and with the help of modern medicine, they were blessed with the birth of their miracle child, Elliott James Kealoha Bethel, on Dec. 2, 1992 in Houston, Texas.

Ron grew up in Kailua, Hawaii. He left the island before finishing high school and got his GED on the mainland. He began his lifetime of employment in the airline industry, starting as a baggage handler for Continental Airlines and working his way up the ranks to a director position.

He left Continental and went to work for AccuFleet, an airline services company in Houston, traveling the U.S. and Pacific handling sales and contracts.

Ron had a lifelong dream to own his own company. In 1998, he and his brother, Herman, bought the Pacific niche market of AccuFleet and formed Unlimited Services Group LLC. Ron was CEO of USG, which grew into a multi-million dollar company, employing 300-plus people on Guam, Hawaii and Saipan, until his death. He was a member of Marvin United Methodist Church.

He is survived by his wife and soul mate, Cherlyn; his sons, Elliott of Fayetteville, Ark., formerly of Tyler, Jason Kuna Lee Bethel (Tara) of Joplin, Mo., Joshua Kawika Ryan Bethel (Melissa) of Independence, Mo., Jacob Keoki Scott Bethel of Blue Springs, Mo.; a Norwegian exchange son, Christian Balsnes (Anne-Brit) of Aalesund, Norway; brothers, Michael Olson of Garden Grove Calif., Herman H. Bethel III (Thim) of Mangilao, Guam; sisters, Anita Valdez (Rodney) of Novato, Calif., Nancy Jenny (Paul) of Brookings, Ore.; father and mother-in-law, George and Jo Glyn Hunt of Vicksburg; brothers-in-law, Tim Hunt (Dee Dee) of Azle, Texas, Lewis Hunt (Mary) of Flower Mound, Texas, Geir Balsnes (Tone) of Aalesund, Norway; sister-in-law, Hope Weber of Citrus Heights, Calif.; “Calabash” family, Robert, Maria and Sean Endler of Kaneohe, Hawaii, Kris Trinies (Steven) of Sacremento, Calif.; grandchildren, Hope, Jordan, Ethan, Damien, Donovan and Uriah Bethel; nieces, nephews, cousins-in-law, and fur babies, Gizmo and Molly Girl.

Ron was an astute businessman, a fair boss, always dealt above board and thought “outside of the box.” He was a grill master of ribs, steaks and pork tenderloin. He was a handy man to the max with the tools, knowledge and where-with-all to prove it, and could fix, build and repair most anything.

He never met a stranger, had friends all over the world, and was willing to help friend or neighbor at a moment’s notice. He was a man of integrity, faith and loyalty.

He was a volunteer extraordinaire.

At Guam United Methodist Church he served as president of the administrative board and would help take care of the church grounds and host meals for visitors. He was the middle of three generations with son Elliott and father-in-law, George, who worked together for many summers at Service Over Self (S.O.S.), a youth ministry of Crawford Street United Methodist Church in Vicksburg, helping to repair, fix, and mend houses of those less fortunate in the community.

He relished his time as a band parent for the Robert E. Lee Red Raider High School Band in Tyler, loading, unloading and towing the trailer to/fro all football games, chaperoning, cooking for the band directors and assisting in whatever capacity was needed.

Ron and his wife kept their home opened as a welcoming haven for Elliott and his friends, affectionately called “Hoodlums.” Treasured “hoodlum”, Trey Groom, wrote, “Your dad was very proud of you (Elliott) and we all saw it. He had a profound, lasting effect on everyone he knew, most of all the hoodlums and will live on through you and us! He was a good man and showed us how to be good men. We loved him and he will be missed but not forgotten. He wasn’t just a good man. He was the best of men!”

Honorary pallbearers are George Hunt, Tim Hunt, Lewis Hunt, all golfing buddies on the mainland, Guam and Hawaii, past and present REL Band Parents Association members, directors and students and the “Hoodlums”.

Ron livd life Large, Lively, Loud, with LOTS of Laughter and endless Love!!!

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the REL Band Parents Association, Attn:, Bobby Castillo, 411 ESE Loop 323, Tyler, TX 75701, the S.O.S., c/o Crawford Street UMC, 900 Crawford Street, Vicksburg, MS 39180 or the charity of your choice.