July 6, 1922 - January 10, 2006
Robert Beaumont, scientist, business man, and naval aviator died after a long illness January 10 at Providence Mt. St. Vincent's in West Seattle.
Mr. Beaumont was born in Deer Lodge, Montana on July 6, 1922. He entered the University of Washington in 1941, but left to serve in the Navy between 1942-46. He served in a night fighter squadron on the U.S.S. Saratoga and later on the U.S.S. Bonhomme Richard, flying many combat missions. On August 15th, 1945, when General MacArthur signed the armistice with Japan on the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay, he was flying overhead. In 1946 he transferred to the Naval Reserve, but returned to active duty as a meteorologist during the Korean War. While in the reserve, he attended the Naval War Colleges in Newport, R.I. and Washington D.C. In 1979 he retired from the Naval Reserve at the rank of captain. However, his service to his country continued in other ways.
After WWII, he returned to Seattle, where he married Patricia King in 1946, and resumed his studies at the U.W., obtaining a B.S. in Meteorology in 1949, and doing graduate study in statistics and Russian.
Mr. Beaumont's scientific and business career spanned more than four decades. He worked for the federal government from 1954-1966 in the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, and while there he developed a sensor to measure and transmit the water content of snow from remote locations, for which he was given the Department of Agriculture's Superior Service Award. He also published many papers in national and international journals, was an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Meteorology, and chairman of a regional committee for the American Geophysical Union.
After 1966 Mr. Beaumont worked for private firms in a variety of fields-among them, weather modification, pollution studies, hydrology, irrigation and solar energy--most frequently as a project manager. After 1973, he worked mostly overseas, where his ability to manage personnel and technology in challenging environments won him the respect of all who knew him. He managed projects in Libya, Saudi Arabia, the Congo, Greece, and Spain, and for his work he spent time in many other countries, among them the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Cyprus, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Algeria. Somalia, the Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, Angola, Cote d'Ivoire. Senegal, Tunisia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Thailand. When Mr. Beaumont retired in 1994, his services were being sought to manage a new project in Malaysia.
Mr. Beaumont spent his last years in Seattle. He is survived by his wife Patricia of Seattle, his sister Elizabeth Bair of Peoria, Arizona, his children James G. King (spouse Ingrid, Redmond, WA), Cathleen Bryan (spouse Darrell, Mercer Island, WA), Daniel Beaumont (spouse Catherine, Rochester, NY) and Peter Beaumont (spouse Michelle, Seattle) and his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. He leaves many dear friends in Seattle, Portland, Oregon and Boulder, Colorado, and many dear friends overseas who remember his wisdom, generosity and humor. The family wishes to thank the staff of Unit 5 Center at Providence Mt. St. Vincent's for their excellent care of Mr. Beaumont the past few years.
A Service will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery, 18600 SE 240th St, in Kent, at 11AM, Monday, January 30th. In lieu of flowers, the family would like remembrances to be donated to the Providence Mt. St. Vincent Foundation.
