Maui air victim KAHULUI >> Maui resident Chris Takitani remembered once seeing his friend Stephen Betsill on the side of the road helping an elderly woman whose car wasn't working.
gave freely
Pilot Stephen Betsill
is remembered for his
acts of generosityBy Gary Kubota
gkubota@starbulletin.com"He stayed there for three hours," Takitani said. "He didn't even know the lady."
The funeral service yesterday for Betsill who died in a July 13 air crash along with three relatives was filled with recollections of his good deeds, from helping to build churches in Haiti to staying up late with a friend who had personal problems.
Nearly 1,100 people attended the service at First Assembly King's Cathedral in Puunene, including his wife Trudee, two sons, Jeremy and Alex, and two daughters, Abigail and Jillian.
The service was upbeat, with gospel singing accompanied by live music, hula dancing, and occasional applause, celebrating and honoring Betsill.
"You can tell what kind of person he was by the number of persons attending the services," said Paul Horikawa, an attorney and friend.
"He was a terrific guy."
National Transportation Safety Board investigators have been examining the engine and airframe of the 1968 Cessna Cardinal 177 at a hangar at the Kahului Airport, in an attempt to determine the cause of the crash.
Betsill, 47, the sales and marketing manager for Betsill Brothers Construction Inc., was the pilot and left Kahului Airport at about 2 p.m. to give an air tour to three relatives -- his cousin Jerry Betsill, 44, of Forth Worth, Texas; Jerry's daughter Emma, 11; and Jerry's grandniece Merideth Fenimore, 10.
The airplane went from Lahaina to Molokai, then back to the Valley Isle, and the last radio contact was at 4:16 p.m. at Keanae in east Maui, the family said.
Merideth's father, Travis Fenimore, riding on a private search helicopter along with Stephen's brothers Randy and Dwayne, found the wreckage Monday morning in a forest in Nahiku in east Maui.
Randy Betsill said family members were relieved to be able to find the downed airplane but at this point, they're not interested in the cause of the crash.
"It doesn't mean anything at all for us ... It's not going to bring anybody back," Randy Betsill said.
Doyle Betsill said there was no way to replace a person with as big a heart as their brother Steve, but those who knew him could pick up where he left off by doing kind deeds, such as giving a lift to a hitchhiker or helping a neighbor.
"In that sense, he will live in everyone's hearts," Doyle said.
Photographs projected on a screen showed Stephen Betsill coaching Little League, horse riding with his daughters, windsurfing, traveling on church missions to the Philippines and Africa, and standing next to an airplane.
The Rev. James Marroco said Stephen Betsill was a dreamer who thought of ways to help others and a man of God who frequently volunteered his business to do work for free for the church and community.
"Heaven was his home long before it was his home last week," he said.
The Betsill family is scheduled to fly to Texas to attend funeral services for Jerry and Emma Betsill tomorrow.