Charles Beiser

Charles Edward Beiser, of Queensbury, NY, died on Monday, July 16th, 2018, in Saranac Lake, NY.

Chuck was born in Stamford, CT, on January 27, 1929 and grew up in Riverside, Greenwich, CT. He graduated from the Brunswick School in 1947. He had fond memories of spending summers sailing, rowing and fishing along the Sound with his brother George, which kindled his lifelong love of boats and water.

Acceptance to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and a Navy ROTC scholarship, allowed him to earn a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 1951. He played goalie for RPI’s hockey team for two years and was a member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.

Upon Chuck’s graduation in June 1951, President Truman surprised him with an invitation to active duty in the Navy. He served as an officer of the deck aboard the USS Brown during the Korean War, completing two tours on the ship in 1953 as a Lieutenant Jr. Grade. On completion of active duty, he worked for IBM, Kellogg and Chemico as a mechanical engineer in NYC.

Chuck met Cindy Beattie, the love of his life, at her family’s camp on Lake George in 1956. In April 1958 they married and remained together for the next 59 ½ years.

They raised their 3 children in Peekskill, NY until 1968, and then moved to suburban St. Louis where Chuck worked as a rotating machinery specialist for Monsanto until 1986. He contributed to the design and construction of some of India’s Green Revolution fertilizer plants, and designed process infrastructure across the world, as well as early co-generation plants.

Chuck transitioned to private consulting and semi-retirement in rural Rensselaer County, NY in 1987 when he and Cindy rescued a needy post-and-beam farmhouse built about 1796 in Eagle Mills, NY. Chuck and Cindy spent the next 27 years painstakingly renovating the property inside and out.

Chuck was a man of logic and heart. He not only could fix most things broken and complex, he would do so with passion both for the long service of the machine and for the people it would serve. He could weld, plumb, draft, do masonry, carpentry, slate roofing, shake siding, hang molding, tile, wire, dig a ditch, re-align or drain, all with endless patience and attention to detail. He served as a Professional Engineer for over 60 years. He taught us all the value of doing things with care and good process, and with a mind to the next time something would be need to be fixed – because it would be.

Chuck was preceded in death by his wife, Cynthia Beattie Beiser, who passed away in October of 2017, as well as his brother George Beiser, sister Mary Ann Parish, and their parents Oscar Beiser and Laura Kimball Beiser.

He is survived by their children Kenneth George (Brenda) Beiser of Philadelphia, PA, Philip Guy (Esther) Beiser of Robertsville, Missouri; and, Elizabeth Kimball (Roger) Buck of Saranac Lake, NY; and their five grandchildren, Charles, Christopher and Emily Beiser and Katrina and Phillip Buck. Other surviving members of his family include his dear niece Sandra Duvall, nephews Geoff, Mark, and Charles (Harry) Beiser, and their families, as well as members of the extended Beattie family.

The family anticipates a celebration of Chuck and Cindy and their lives together at the family camp on Lake George in early August.

If you wish to honor Chuck’s memory, the family suggests donations be made to the Arbor Day Foundation or the Lake George Association in care of the Fortune-Keough Funeral Home. Family and friends can sign an online guest book and share their memories at fortunekeoughfuneralhome.com