Recently, the Town Crier ran a photo of Pine Cove resident Jon Bechtel receiving honors for having donated blood 1,000 times over a 50-year period.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BECHTELS
Bechtel and his wife, Joan, married 54 years, relocated from Arizona to California, where he served for 16 years on the sheriff’s search and rescue team in Big Bear. They moved from Big Bear to Pine Cove three or four years ago to get away from the crowds on the other mountain. “We love it here,” he told the Town Crier this week.
Bechtel was raised on a farm located in what is now the city of Phoenix. A U.S. Army paratrooper, Bechtel left the service in 1964 and began donating every two weeks. He still is donating that often. He has type O-positive blood, and he donates platelets and plasma, which means he does not have to wait two months in between donations as is required when donating whole blood.
Now age 79, Bechtel said he has always been blessed with good health. In younger years, he competed in 50-mile ultramarathons, 100-mile trail races and 24-hour runs.
Bechtel is a member of Woodies, a volunteer group with the Mountain Community Fire Safe Council, which he says is always looking for new members.
