Obituary of Harry William Beatty

BEATTY, Harry William - B.PHE, B.ED, M.ED, Prof Emeritus - It is with deep sorrow that the family announces the passing of Harry Beatty, in his 89th year, on Monday, Sept. 5th, 2011, at the Parkwood Veteran’s Hospital, London, Ontario. He is survived by his beloved and devoted wife of 67 years, Mildred (Jamieson), daughter Frances Sutherland (partner Dan), sons Greg (Judy), Gary (Pam) and Brian (partner Kristine); also by brother Ross (Rae) of Welland and several nieces and nephews. Predeceased by brothers Roy and Jack, sisters Marjorie Stone and Barbara Rogers. He will be missed by his 9 cherished grandchildren: Kirsten, Derek & Matthew Sutherland; Tyler, Amy & Spencer; Daniel & Caitlin; and Ashlyn Beatty, as well as 7 precious great-grandchildren. Harry was born in Hamilton on Jan. 15, 1923, educated at Welland public and high school. After completing his apprenticeship in machine shop practice, Harry joined the navy, serving on the H.M.C.S. Stormont. Post war, he received his B.PHE & B.ED from the University of Toronto. He accepted a technical ed. teaching position at Welland H. & V. S. from 1950-1961, which included a 1 year leave of absence to teach in Malaysia. The family moved to London in 1961 when Harry joined the Ministry of Education as a secondary school inspector of technical schools in the Western Ontario division. He also acted as a consultant on the design & equipment for the future Althouse College at U.W.O., and in the development of new curriculums for secondary school technical education. In 1965, he was appointed as Faculty Head of teacher training for technical ed. at Althouse College. During this time, Harry obtained his M.Ed and Professor Emeritus. Following 17 years as faculty head, he was appointed by C.I.D.A. as Canada’s representative to conduct feasibility studies for the establishment of a regional centre for technical teacher training in The Middle East & South-East Asia. He also represented Canada on a 5-man team which spent 3 months travelling to a number of Asian countries. Between 1970-1982, he went abroad on 5 occasions as part of study teams regarding technical development aid programs. As a result of his efforts, many foreign students received training at Althouse and technical facilities were built overseas. Harry took early retirement in 1982 to accept a 26-month C.I.D.A. assignment in Bolivia where he set up and established technical schools throughout the country. Following retirement, he & Mildred would spend winters in Bradenton, Fla and summers at their cottage on Colpoy’s Bay near Wiarton. Harry loved his days at the cottage – which he built with the help of his 3 sons. He enjoyed sailing - crafting 3 sailboats himself. Although he had many varied interests, his greatest ambition in life was to further technical education both in Canada and in developing overseas countries. Always the gentleman, he was respected and admired by his peers and deeply loved by his family. Cremation has taken place. A celebration of Harry’s life will take place at the WESTVIEW FUNERAL CHAPEL, 709 Wonderland Road North, London, on Saturday, Sept. 10, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. with visitation one hour prior to the service. If desired, donations may be made to the Alzheimer Society or to the Parkwood Veteran’s Hospital, London, Ontario.