Obituary of Kenneth Beatty

Dr. Kenneth Orion Beatty Jr. of Raleigh, NC, Reynolds Professor Emeritus of Chemical Engineering at North Carolina State University, died at home of heart failure on March 24, 2014. He was 100 years old and had recently greatly enjoyed birthday celebrations with his friends and family.

Dr. Beatty received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from Lehigh (now Lehigh University); he first worked for Dow Chemical in Midland, MI and then taught at the University of RI prior to earning the Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1946. He taught at NCSU from 1946 until his retirement in 1978 after which he worked as an expert witness, specializing in slip-and-fall and suspected arson cases.

He was born at home in East Lansdowne, PA on December 18, 1913; his beloved late parents were Kenneth Orion Beatty, a sign painter and black-and-white artist, and Ada Pearl Beatty, a homemaker who ran her own secretarial business.

Survivors include daughter Susan Jolly and husband Ed of Los Alamos, NM; daughter Prudence Beatty of New York, NY; daughter Lucy Beatty of Durham; four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and his best friend Frances "Billie" Richardson. He was pre-deceased by his wife of 68 years, the former Mary Catharine Carter, whom he met at Upper Darby High School in PA; his sister, Ada Beatty of Newton; and their cousin Justin Spain of NJ with whom Dr. Beatty shared a birth date. Mr. Spain passed away November 19, 2013.

A visitation will be held 5:30-7:00 p.m., Thursday March 27, 2014 at Montlawn Funeral home. A private burial will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in memory of Dr. Beatty can be sent to The Helping Hand Mission of Raleigh, NC at http://www.helpinghandmission.org/donations.html

Arrangements are by Montlawn Funeral Home, 2911 S. Wilmington St., Raleigh, NC. Condolences can be made at www.montlawn.com