Shipyard worker 'Betsy the Burner' dies at 83

The Hillsborough homemaker cut metal in a naval yard in California during World War II.

By LEA IADAROLA, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published July 10, 2002

Rena T. "Betsy the Burner" Wiese, the first female to cut metal at the United States Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, died Friday (July 5, 2002) of bone cancer. She was 83.

Born on Feb. 17, 1919 in San Francisco, Mrs. Wiese lived in the Mission District for many years. She moved to Valrico in 1991, where she died.

From 1941 to 1944, during World War II, Mrs. Wiese worked as the first female "burner" at the naval shipyards in San Francisco. She was responsible for cutting the metal on the ships with a torch.

"She was put 240 feet in the air in a little cage," said her husband, Fred D. Wiese, 74. "She was an ambitious woman. No one else would go up there."

The couple was introduced by a mutual friend on Sept. 23, 1950. She was the bakery manager at Waxman's Bakery on Mission Street and Mr. Wiese was a power lineman for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. She was 31 and Mr. Wiese was 21.

The two quickly fell in love.

"I'll remember her kindness and devotion to me, the children and to everybody she met," Mr. Wiese said.

In 1951, Mr. Wiese joined the Army and was sent to Korea. While he was stationed there, Mrs. Wiese gave birth to a son, Robert L. Wiese. Three years later, she had a daughter, U.S. Air Force Col. Lorene T. Hill, who is currently stationed at the Pentagon.

While Mr. Wiese's military career took him to Germany, Vietnam and Thailand, Mrs. Wiese remained a homemaker.

When the family reunited in 1958, they moved to Fort Bragg, N.C., where Mr. Wiese served as one of the first Green Berets. Mrs. Wiese worked at the Annex 8 and Annex 1 noncommissioned officers club as a waitress and bartender. She retired in 1972.

After the Wieses retired, they traveled the country -- to Tucson, Ariz., Roseville, Calif. and Honolulu. It was in California that Mrs. Wiese discovered she had breast cancer.

Mr. and Mrs. Wiese came to Strawberry Ridge Park in Valrico 11 years ago.

On Memorial Day, the Veteran's Club near Mrs. Wiese's home presented her with a plaque to commemorate her service.

In addition to her husband, son and daughter, she is survived by a brother, Armando Anselmo, Stockton, Calif.; and two grandchildren. Cremation will be by the Neptune Society of Palm Harbor.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the Green Team, LifePath Hospice of Tampa.

-- Times news researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Lea Iadarola can be reached at 226-3321 or iadarola@sptimes.com

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