George N. Beaton Jr. ’43

George N. Beaton Jr. ’43 died December 10, 2011, at the Torrance (California) Memorial Hospital. George graduated from the Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine, where he was on the student council, school paper and yearbook staffs, a member of the Dramatic Club and played golf and tennis his junior and senior years. At Dartmouth George was a member of the Delta Upsilon and Foley House and participated in many intramural athletics. After graduation George moved to Burbank, California, where he worked for Lockheed briefly before enlisting in the Navy. Upon discharge George came back to Dartmouth to the Thayer School of Engineering, graduating in 1947. He then went to work for Hughes Aircraft, remaining with them except for five years—1947 to 1952 with NASA. He retired in 1984 as director of quality assurance for the radar assistance division. He was a member of the Institute of Environmental Engineering and wrote numerous articles and papers on the subject of reliability program management. During his years at NASA George met Joan Herwig; they were married in 1952. In retirement they traveled extensively. George enjoyed living by the ocean and running—“three times a week, but no more 10Ks,” he said at the time of his 50th reunion. He also loved gardening and local politics, serving as a city councilman and mayor pro tem from 1967 to 1976 in Palos Verdes, California. George is survived by Joan, daughter Lynda and her husband, Doug, and two granddaughters.