Howard Bethke

Howard H. Bethke was born in Baltimore, Maryland, He was the son of Henry and Lena (DeVries) Bethke and husband of the late Mary (Ritter) Bethke. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army and worked for General Motors, retiring after 31 years of service. Howard was a member of Zion Evangelical Lutheran UCC in Golden Ring. He enjoyed watching NASCAR, Orioles & Ravens games, camping, bird watching and going to the beach. He also loved spending time with his grandchildren.

Howard ‘s son is Howard Timothy Bethke (married to Sara). Howard’s daughter is Patricia Bethke (married to Veronica Grover). Tim and Sara have two daughters, Hadley Bethke and Harper Bethke.

Howard’s brothers and sisters: Lena Knauff, May Townsley, Marie Solokowski, Alvina Schneider, Hilda Zink, Bill Bethke, and Henry (Pete) Bethke.

Howard was baptized, confirmed and married at Zion church. He lived with his family in Edgewood. He enjoyed retirement from General Motors after 30 years of service. Zion held some fond and good memories for him and that is why he went back. His favorite hymn was the same one that was his mother’s favorite “In The Garden”.

Here is Howard’s military history as written by Hilda for a VFW Veterans Event:

Name: Howard Bethke

Branch of military: U.S. Army

Served from: 1958 to 1961

Trained: Fort Hood, Texas – three months

Awards, medals, or honors: Good Conduct

Our troop was sent by ship to France and then traveled by train to Germany. The train windows were covered so we couldn’t see where we were going. We arrived in a small town just outside Frankfort, Germany.

I was a “heavy” truck driver – doing the general hauling of equipment and supplies. We lived in barracks but for the maneuvers we stayed in tents. The weather was quite frigid. We had liberty rights to go into the towns.

I was in the same unit with Elvis Presley. One day while our unit was on kitchen duty, Elvis was peeling potatoes and I got his autograph – which I still have. He was just a regular guy and got no special treatment. He had a “music box” and we would all sit around at night listening to Elvis sing and we even sang along with him.

I returned to the United States and received an honorable discharge at Fort Meade, MD.

Howard ran a produce stand. It may have been the one at Canton Market in Baltimore City. 1961

At the market. From the left: Henry Bethke, son Howard Bethke, Daisy, and Nancy Knauff. This could be the farm stand that Henry had at the Saturday Canton, Baltimore City, market. Note the bags of Koester's rolls -- the E. H. Koester Bakery Co. was founded in 1885 and was at one time the largest family owned bakery east of the Mississippi. The business was located at 644 W. Lexington Street in Baltimore City.

: Howard, with the Crystal Ball Inn in the background. The Inn was owned by George and Doris (Jones) Dalgo. Tim Dalgo is a pastor at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in Golden Ring, Baltimore. Tim said the Inn “was quite the happening spot in the area for many years! My father was stationed at the army post at Golden Ring Road and Pulaski Highway during the Korean War and met my mother there. I spent a lot of my childhood there and my first home was in the family compound behind the building. My grandfather died in 1963 and my great-grandfather sold it before he passed in 1972.”

: Reunion when Pete got home from the service, about 1963. L to R: Back row: Lena, Henry, Jerry, Howard, Hilda, Marie, Bill Schneider. Middle row: Nancy, Lena, Daisy, Ray, Pete, Alvina Front row: Debbie, Jeannie, Ray, Sondra, Joyce