Memorial services will be held on Thursday, January 12, 2006 at 11:00 a.m., at the Presbyterian Church in Early, Iowa, under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home. Burial will be at the Odebolt Cemetery. There will be no visitation.

Paul John Bettin, age 62, of Early, Iowa, passed away at his home on Tuesday, January 3, 2006. Paul was born on January 17, 1943 in Sac County, Iowa the son of Elmer R. and Marvel (Quistorff) Bettin.

Paul was raised on the family farm west of Early, attended the Early schools, and graduated from Crestland High School in May 1961. He continued his education at State College of Iowa (now UNI) where he received a B.A. Degree in Business in 1965 and his M.S. Degree in Mathematical Statistics from the University of Iowa in 1970. Upon graduation he accepted a position as a mathematical statistician with the Bureau of the Census in Suitland, MD and spent the next twenty-five years working for the federal government. He retired from the Census Bureau in 1995 and three years later returned to Iowa to make his home.

In 1966 Paul was united in marriage to Kathleen Youngren at the First Presbyterian Church in Odebolt, Iowa. The marriage was blessed with three children: Tobias, Todd and Tricia. As a young man, Paul was an avid bowler, golfer, skier, and fisherman. His love of music, however, lasted his lifetime starting with playing trumpet in high school and continuing through this past summer when he played trumpet in the community band. He taught himself to play guitar and keyboard and especially enjoyed expressing himself through original song lyrics. His marriages to Kathleen Youngren and Janice Bettin ended in divorce.

Paul is survived by his children: Tobias Bettin of Bethesda, MD, Todd Bettin and his fiancée, Lisa Gibson of Crofton, MD, and Tricia (Bettin) Vath and her husband Steven Vath of Denver, CO; and sister Joan Doyle of New Orleans, LA.

He was preceded in death by his parents.