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Earl Beaver Obituary
Beaver, Earl R. PhD
Passed away on Monday, June 13, 2022, at the age of 77.
Beloved husband of fifty-seven years to Lois Beaver; father of David (Kimberly) Beaver and James (Danette) Beaver; grandfather of Kirsten (Michael) Ravas, Marc Beaver, Steven (Alex) Stowers, Zach Beaver, Kyle Beaver, Douglas Beaver, and Mackenzie Beaver; great-grandfather of Amelia Ravas, Violet Ravas, and Everley Stowers; brother of Shirley (Steve) Wylie and Linda Harter; dear uncle, cousin, and friend to many.
Earl was a Chemical Engineer, an Environmentalist, and a CEO.
Services: Funeral service at the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory, 14960 Manchester Road at Holloway, Ballwin, Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Visitation Saturday 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Friends may sign the family's on-line guestbook at Schrader.com
Memories and Condolences
for Earl Beaver
Scott Butner
November 17, 2023
Earl was many things, to many people, but when I first met him he was the director of Waste Elimination at Monsanto, and a regular at the AIChE Environmental Division meetings that I attended (I think we both served terms as chair of that Division over the years). Earl would eventually become the head of sustainability at Monsanto, and while that may seem a contradiction in terms to some of my environmentalist friends, Earl always took that responsibility seriously and did his best to push the envelope of what was included under that still-nebulous term. He was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the Center for Waste Reduction Technologies, an industry-led consortium that conducted and funded research on pollution prevention techniques and technologies.
But for me, personally, more than anything else, Earl was a master storyteller when it came to technical presentations. In those days I was organizing a lot of symposium sessions on pollution prevention, especially in the chemical industry, and Earl was always one of the first people I’d think to invite.
Even after digital projectors and laptops became the norm for technical presentations, Earl would show up at conferences with a thick folder full of 8.5x11” view graphs for the overhead projector, and seemingly ad lib his way through his technical presentations. It often felt like he was not talking from a script or prepared talk, but merely relating a stream-of-conscious as he randomly sifted through his view graphs. But he did it so effectively and captivatingly that it was impossible to look away.
He’d sift through the slides seemingly at random while he was talking, setting most aside with a slight shake of the head and perhaps a mumbled dismissal (“no, you don’t need to see this one”). When he selected a view graph it seemed to be written for this exact moment in his talk, but if you’d seen him at another conference last month speaking on a related topic, you’d know that it was in that stack for a while.
He was a master at knowing his audience - literally – and if he saw you in the audience he was almost certainly going to name-check you, and there was a very high chance that he was going to cite your work during his presentation, along with its relevance to what he was saying - all from memory. Of course it helped that in those days (late 80’s/early 90’s) the community of researchers in the chemical engineering field who were working on sustainability was pretty small and we all knew one another and read each others papers. Still, I didn’t know anyone – with the possible exception of Prof. Michael Overcash of UNC -- who could cite more current work from memory than Earl and he excelled at weaving loose threads into a tapestry
I did my best to borrow what I could from Earl’s speaking style and if invites to speak at conferences was any indication did a decent job myself, but never in a million years could I hope to be as engaging at the podium as Earl. He is missed.
Tom Hutchison
July 5, 2022
Lois, my sincere condolences to you and your family. I had a great admiration for Earl. His wisdom and integrity, as well as his friendship, will be missed.
Anita Myles
June 18, 2022
My condolences to the family.
May he rest is peace.
Bruce Buckland
June 16, 2022
We are proud of Earl´s contributions to the
Chemical Engineering field.
Bruce S Buckland
Monsanto Retiree
How you can show support
Mike Pierle
June 15, 2022
Sympathy to all Earl's family members. He was a great contributor to our science and environmental programs during his career. Also, fondly remember that he was one of the orchestrator's of my 30th work anniversary party.
Will keep all of you in my prayers. Sorry I am not in the area to be with you on Saturday.
Verle Schrodt
June 15, 2022
I remember Earl and I have worked with him many years ago. He was a good guy.
Shirley Wylie
June 14, 2022
I love you my big brother. I´ll see you over there one day. Save me a seat. I know Mom and Dad are so happy to see you. Rest In Peace.
Kim
June 14, 2022
I will miss you!
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Memorial Events
for Earl Beaver
Jun
18
Visitation
1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Schrader Funeral Home and Crematory - Ballwin14960 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011
Jun
18
Funeral service
2:30 p.m.
Schrader Funeral Home and Crematory - Ballwin14960 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011
Funeral services provided by:
Schrader Funeral Home and Crematory - Ballwin14960 Manchester Road, Ballwin, MO 63011
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Saint Louis, MO
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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