Dr. George Breckenridge Beard, Professor Emeritus of Physics at Wayne State University, passed away Jan. 15, 2007 in Howell, Michigan at the age of 82.
Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts on Feb. 22, 1924 to Daniel and Ann (nee Curran), he and his siblings were orphaned as children during the Great Depression. He was raised by various family and friends in New England before graduating with honors from Fairport (N.Y.) High School. He attended Harvard University on a scholarship with an interruption to serve in the US Army Air Corp during WWII. After graduating in 1947, he went on to earn is Ph.D. in Nuclear Physics from the University of Michigan. He married Eveline Roehling on Jan. 29, 1955. He was a professor of Physics at Michigan State University until 1960, when he moved to the Wayne State University Physics Department.
At Wayne State, among other posts, he served as Chairman of both the Physics and Computer Science Departments as well as an Associate Deane. He continued his nuclear research at Wayne State and at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, as well as co-authoring a book on Quantum Mechanics in 1970.
George was an avid walker, having hiked all over the world. He enjoyed traveling both around the Country and abroad. He lived in Australia for one year in 1982-83 while on sabbatical. He also enjoyed fishing in Northern Ontario and Alaska as well as the time spent with family and friends.
He was proceeded in death by his wife and his daughter Louisa Ann in 1998. He is survived by his brother Richard PhD (Marilyn), sons Kevin PhD (Loretta), William (Jean), Glenn, Randall (Kathleen), son-in-law Keith McDonald, and grandchildren Kaitlin, Daniel, Sarah McDonald, Jessica, Katherine, Michael, Nicholas, and TessaMarie.
In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made in his memory the Dr.George B. & Eveline R. Beard Endowment Fund at Wayne State University.