Betty Petach passed away at the High Desert Haven on December 19, 2025.

Betty Petach was born on January 3, 1929 in Indianapolis, Indiana. She was raised with her sister Jean in Bloomington, Indiana by her parents Wendell and Alita Wright. Her father, Wendell, was the second Dean of Education and Vice President at Indiana University. The School of Education building at the University of Indiana is named after her father. Betty attended Indiana University where her love of languages blossomed, and where she received Bachelor’s degrees in English and French. After graduating from college, she taught at a Middle School in Gary, Indiana for one year and at a High School in Crowne Point, Indiana for three years. She then went back to Bloomington to get her Master’s Degree in Education. After getting her Master’s degree, Betty moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa where she taught at a High School for three years. During the summer of 1955, while living in Cedar Rapids, she attended a San Francisco University sponsored summer tour in Mexico to learn about the Spanish Language. During this tour, she met and fell in love with Andrew (Andy) Petach who also had a love of languages. In 1957, Betty married Andy in Bloomington, Indiana.

After their marriage, Betty moved to China Lake, California to join Andy who was teaching at Murray Junior High School on the navy base. They both stayed in the China Lake/Ridgecrest area the rest of their lives, moving off the base to Ridgecrest in 1976. Betty and Andy attended Catholic services at the China Lake All Faith Chapel and after moving to Ridgecrest in 1976 also attended services at Saint Ann’s Catholic Church in Ridgecrest.

Betty was a loving stay at home mother who raised five children: Patti Oliver (Santa Clarita, CA), Amy Pruitt (Prescott Valley, AZ), Teresa Petach (Chatsworth, CA), John Petach (Medford, OR), and Jennifer Clark (Moss Beach, CA), helped raise three grandchildren: Christopher Pruitt (Los Angeles, CA), Luke Petach (Nashville, TN), and Jamie Clark (Portland, OR), and one great grand daughter: Juniper Petach (Nashville, TN), making a significant positive impact on their lives. Betty passed on her love of animals, life-long learning, reading, and languages to her children and grandchildren who have all earned college degrees. Betty was an avid, voracious reader until her passing, and frequently exchanged and discussed books with her children.

After raising five children, Betty went back to teaching. She taught part-time at Cerro Coso Community College and also chose to work part-time as a teacher’s aide at Pierce Elementary. Her time at Pierce Elementary focused on helping young students who were struggling learning to read. Betty strongly believed in the importance of children learning to read at a young age, and was ahead of her time in understanding the positive lifelong impacts that come from being able to read at an early age.

Betty was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Jean, and her husband Andy who passed away on October 12, 2015. Per her wishes, the Petach family will have a private service for her.