Pete (Henry C.) Bethke, was the second child of Henry Bethke and his first wife. Pete was born October 16, 1928 and passed away on February 24, 2013.
Born in Baltimore, Henry served his county as a member of the United States Army from 1946 to 1966. He then worked as a maintenance supervisor for Anne Arundel County. He had brothers William and Howard, and sisters Lena, Alvina, Hilda, Marie and May Henry was predeceased by his wife Margaret and two children, Rudi and Klaus. He also had a daughter Karin, and also five grandchildren. He belonged to the American Legion and enjoyed football and watching westerns.
In a 2008 letter to Muchelle, Hilda wrote: “When he worked at the Perfection Laundry – it was his job to check pockets before the clothing was washed. He found many treasures… and brought them home to me – well I thought he was the best brother in the whole wide world to give me those beautiful items. Then he worked at Uebersax ‘s bakery – those sweet treats he brought home filled my sweet tooth then and now warms my heart with memories of him. When he went into the service, I made sure I wrote to him faithfully – I missed him so much. I had a stack of his letters and just recently reread them – it was his letters he wrote to me when he was stationed in Korea – I have passed them on to a family member for future generations to read and know his history. I just could not throw them away and wanted them to stay in the family. They truly are treasures – not just for family but historically as well.”
