Betty, a fifth-generation Californian, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in English literature. Immediately after graduating from Cal Betty joined the Waves, the Navy’s branch for women, to serve in Word War II. Having a college degree, she was eligible to attend officers’ school, but chose to enlist and was sent for Wave basic training in New York. When her training was completed, Betty was designated a postal clerk and assigned to the Navy’s West Coast postal facility in San Francisco. An integral part of her assignment was access to the Navy’s code sheet, which revealed the top-secret locations of all ships in the U.S. Pacific Fleet. After two years of active duty in San Francisco, in October 1945, a month after the Japanese surrendered and World War II ended, Betty was honorably discharged with the rank of Petty Officer, Second Class. Betty’s deceased husband Lieutenant Colonel John A. Storch flew combat missions, 18 of which he led as the commanding officer of the 364th Fighter Squadron, in a P-51 “Mustang” long-range fighter bomber. John became a “double-ace” by downing 11 German airplanes in aerial combat over Leipzig, Dresden and Berlin. John’s decorations included 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Silver Star, an Air Medal, and the French Croix de Guerre. Betty’s son Dr. John C. Storch is a Newport Beach internist and is a former Chief of Staff at Hoag. Betty has resided in the Bayshores community in Newport Beach for 67 years.