Class of 1944
1944 Graduation EditionPerry Daily Journal
Earl Raymond Bechtold, Jr.
Architecture will be the interest of Earl Raymond Bechtold Jr. after the war. He is now enlisted in the nave V-12.
Raymond was born August 15, 1925, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Earl R. Bechtold, Perry.
Raymond has been active in sports such as basketball, on the football team three years, and golf team three years.
He was a member of the junior national honor society during his freshman year. He is a member of the Christian church and Alpha Eta.
Earl Raymond Bechtold, Jr.
August 15, 1925 – March 4, 2005
Earl Raymond Bechtold, 79, of McKinney, TX, was called home to his Savior Friday, March 4, 2005, at Homestead of McKinney Nursing Center.
He was born August 15, 1925, in Perry, Okla. to Earl Raymond and Gladys Bechtold.
After serving in the Naval Air Corps during WWII, he returned home to attend Oklahoma State University. There, he met Bettye June Annis and the couple married August 30, 1946, in Stillwater, Okla.
The pair owned and operated Tamac Pottery Company in Perry Okla. for a number of years until Raymond accepted a management position with Ditch Witch, Inc. and relocated to Phoenix, Ariz.
Upon retirement, the Bechtolds moved to Corvallis, Montana, where Raymond manufactured handmade furniture and custom handbags while Bettye operated the sales outlet.
For a number of years, Bechtold also raised Appaloosa horses while raising four grandchildren.
The Bechtolds came to McKinney in 1995 to be nearer to family and soon became active members of First Baptist Church.
Raymond and Bettye also invested a great deal of time with other members of the Golden Heirs Sunday School class.
Visitation with the family will be held at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 6, 2005, at Charles Smith and Son Funeral Home of McKinney. Friends and family will celebrate Raymond’s life at 10 a.m., Monday, March 7, 2005, in the Sanctuary at First Baptist Church of McKinney under direction of Pastors Jeff Warren and Randy Morlan. Interment will be held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, March 8, 2005 at Grace Hill Cemetery in Perry, Okla. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Caregivers Ministry at First Baptist Church of McKinney.
Raymond is survived by wife Bettye June Bechtold of McKinney, son James Richard Bechtold and wife Terri of McKinney, daughter Dayna Bechtold Boyd and husband David of Austin, grandsons Grady Dane Overman and wife Gretchen of Plano, Luke Raymond Overman and wife Brooke of Mansfield, Gavin Derek Overman of Dallas, James Richard Bechtold, Jr. of McKinney, and Adam Dawud Hamad and Ameer Michael Hamad, both of Carrollton, granddaughters Cara Danay Overman of Dallas, Nina Marie Bechtold of McKinney, Carol Jean Nelsen and husband, U.S. Army Specialist Joseph of El Paso, Bettye Jo Hooper and husband, Tyler of McKinney and great-granddaughter Ashlynn Mikayla Bechtold-Nelsen.