Robert John Betsold

Robert J Betsold, 80, of Vienna, Virginia, passed on May 2, 2019. He is survived by his wife of 55 years, Clarissa, and two children, a son, Kevin, of Vienna, VA, and a daughter, Amanda, of San Francisco, CA. Bob and his wife are longtime members of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Vienna, VA.

Bob is predeceased by his parents George and Alice Betsold of West Hatfield, MA.

Bob was born on February 15, 1939, in Northampton, MA. He was an alumnus of the University of Massachusetts (BSCE – 1961; MSCE – 1964) and American University (Master of Public Administration-1981). He also completed post-graduate work at the Federal Executive Institute in Charlottesville, VA; AASHTO Institute at the University of Mississippi and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Bob served his country as a 1st Lt., Construction Engineer Unit Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Fort Belvoir, VA, and in the Federal Republic of Germany. He was a member of a military intelligence reserve unit while attending graduate school.

Bob worked at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), DOT as the Associate Administrator for Research and Development at the Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center, McLean, VA. In his 35-year caree at FHWA, he also served as Assistant Planning and Research Engineer in Richmond, VA; Engineer Manager of the Chicago Crosstown Expressway in IL and Director of the Office of Implementation and Director of the Office of Safety and Traffic Operations R&D in Washington, DC.

A viewing will be held at Money and King Funeral Home, Vienna, VA, from 6:00 – 8:00 pm on Wednesday, May 8, followed by a funeral mass at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church, Vienna, VA, at 10:30 am on Thursday, May 9. He will be buried at a future date in Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Do Better Initiative, a 501(c)(3) founded by his daughter to raise money and awareness for various causes, starting with cancer survivor research (dobetter.life).