Beth Jo Calabotta

1967 - 2017

QUINCY -- Beth Jo Calabotta passed away March 28, 2017, of late-stage, metastatic breast cancer in Quincy, at the age of 49 years.

Beth was born Sept. 13, 1967, in Iowa City, Iowa, to Robert F. and Mary Jo Godwin. She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Iowa in 1989 with a B.S. in chemical engineering and a minor in mathematical sciences. As a senior she received the 1989 Susan Hancher Outstanding Senior Woman of the Year award. During her junior year at Iowa, she was the recipient of the 1988 Virgil M. Hancher Memorial Scholarship that recognized her as the outstanding U of I student that year. She was also one of six students in the country to receive a Materials Processing Center Scholarship at the summer program at MIT's Material Processing Center. Beth received the 1988 award for scholarship achievement from AIChE. She subsequently received an MBA from Washington University in 1996.

In the fall of 1989, Beth met David Francis Calabotta and married him Aug. 29, 1992. They worked and played together in the sandbox of life as friends, partners and lovers for over 25 years, enjoying work and leisure time together and with friends.

She worked over 25 years at Monsanto Co. in St. Louis, Mo., as a chemical engineer, with increasing responsibilities focused upon development and commercialization of new technologies. While at Monsanto, she successfully authored or co-authored at least eight patents that, when implemented and commercialized, contributed significantly to additional profits for Monsanto's shareholders. Beth completed her tenure at Monsanto in October 2014 as director and fellow of Monsanto's Bioenergy Development Program.

Beth loved to read and continued to learn about everything technical, artful and spiritual throughout her life and enjoyed reading fictional novels for relaxation. She loved to garden, cook gourmet dishes, design and create unique jewelry pieces for her family and friends; enjoyed exercising, including swimming, cycling and jogging; and enjoyed listening to music and gathering with her family, friends and relatives.

Beth was a generous, witty, dedicated, loving soul who had an unquenchable love for agriculture and life-sciences. Later in her career, Beth's efforts focused almost solely on the development of biofuels as viable energy alternatives to conventional fuels. She was an active member and officer of the Chemical Engineering Society, served on the advisory board for the University of Iowa, College of Engineering, served as director, vice president and treasurer of the National Biodiesel Foundation, was active in the National Corn Growers Association, provided much technical support to establish the Renewable Fuel Standard, and lobbied Congress on numerous occasions as an advocate of biodiesel, bioethanol and research funding allocations for metastatic breast cancer.

In 2004 and 2007, she was the YWCA's Women of Achievement recipient. She was also a passionate, dedicated volunteer for numerous other community service efforts and projects including the United Way. Among those volunteer efforts, Beth coordinated the raising of funds, planning and building of a playground for inner-city children, raised funds to support metastatic breast cancer research and was an advisor to the Cancer Couch Foundation (CCF). In 2015, the Sheraton Swim Club, of which Beth was a member, formally renamed their annual swim competition "The Beth Calabotta Swim Challenge" (BCSC), a United States Masters Swimming (USMS) event of which all proceeds collected were matched by CCF. In September of 2016, BCSC raised over $20,000 for metastatic breast cancer research, of which $2,000 was donated directly to Blessing Hospital in Quincy, to offset costs associated with traveling to the cancer center by patients living in outlying areas to the hospital. The BCSC will be greatly expanded to other locations and cities in 2017 and beyond.

Beth is survived by her husband, Dr. David Francis Calabotta; her two white German shepherds, Luna Moon and Desmond Baron; her parents, Dr. Robert Godwin and Mary Jo Godwin, previously Mary Jo Kouba; brother, Theodore (Shelley); sisters, Catherine (Timothy) Stensby and Maggie (Andreas) Godwin; and aunt of William, Benjamin and Morgan (Godwin), Austin, Matt and Chase (Stensby) and Roscoe (Godwin).

She was preceded in death by her grandparents and other canine pets (Lucy and Sally).

SERVICES: 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 12, a short visitation and service will be held at Duker and Haugh Funeral Home, followed by a 10:30 a.m. Mass and funeral services at St. Francis Solanus Church, 1710 College Ave. Father More Torres-Torres, O.F.M., will conduct the ceremony. All are welcome to attend and celebrate Beth's life and passing to a higher realm.

VISITATION: 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, April 11, at the funeral home.

MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Cancer Couch Foundation, P.O. Box 1145, Southport, CT 06890; or make online donations at thecancercouch.com.

ARRANGEMENTS: Duker and Haugh Funeral Home.

Condolences may be expressed online at whig.com.