Walter R. "Bob" Beer 1926-2017

Walter R. "Bob" Beer Jr. passed away at home on Jan. 31, 2017.

He was born in Ossining, NY, on Sept. 30, 1926, the son of Walter R. Beer and Helene Wardell Beer.

He graduated early from Pleasantville High School in January of 1944, in order to enlist in the Navy V-12 program at Dartmouth College. He was then transferred to Harvard, where he graduated from Harvard School of Business and received his commission as Ensign in June of 1946. In 1946-1947, he served on the USS Harwood (DD-861) as a damage control officer.

While working in the importing business in New York, he studied finance and foreign trade at NYU Graduate School of Business, while remaining in the Naval Reserve. When the Korean War broke out, he was recalled to active duty and served as Lieutenant and gunnery officer on the USS DeHaven (DD-727). While in the Navy, he met his wife, Orba. They were married Sept. 13, 1953, and spent 53 years together prior to her death in 2007.

In 1956, they bought the Rogers house on West Hill in South Wallingford and ran it together as a bed and breakfast, a place that he always loved. He then joined Howe Scale in Rutland as sales promotion manager. When Howe Scale was sold, he was hired by a commission of college presidents to organize and administer the Higher Education Facilities Act for Vermont. He moved to Poultney in 1968 when he became the business manager at Green Mountain College.

He was always interested in politics and ran many Republican campaigns over the years. He was appointed by President Reagan to serve on his Panel on Financing Primary and Secondary Education. His last job prior to retirement was as business manager for the Windsor Southeast Supervisory Union. He was a longtime member of the Poultney United Methodist Church, the Poultney Rotary Club, the USS DeHaven Sailors Association and the Wallingford American Legion. He is survived by his daughters, Kimberly DeSieno and husband Mike, from Columbia, SC, and Leslie Allen and husband Oakley, from Middletown Springs, VT; his grandchildren, Alex Towle and husband Kevin, from Poultney, VT, Katelin DeSieno, from Columbia, SC, Jordan Pauquette, from Poultney, VT; and a great-grandson, Grayson Towle. He is also survived by his sister, Marilyn Perry and husband Lawrence, from Corpus Christi, TX; and his niece and nephew and their families, Susan LaBrie, from San Antonio, TX, and Steven Perry from Houston, TX.