Victor Beal

Dr. Victor C. Beal, Jr., age 76, of the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, passed away Tuesday evening, June 5, 2007 at Hill Haven Rehabilitation Center in Adelphi, Maryland. The only child of Louise (Murdoch) & Victor C. Beal, Sr., he was born on February 6, 1931 in Greenville and raised on the familys purebred Jersey cattle farm near Stanton. In his youth he participated in 4-H and Future Farmers of America and graduated class valedictorian of Stanton High School in 1949. He then attended Michigan State College, majoring in Dairy Production and graduated in June of 1953 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He then served his country in uniform during the Korean Conflict and was stationed overseas with the U.S. Army in Korea and Okinawa. Following the war, he attended graduate school at Michigan State University and in August of 1957 earned a Master of Science degree in Dairy Cattle Breeding. He then began the doctoral program at Purdue University, graduating in June of 1963 with his Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree in Population Genetics. Immediately following graduation from Purdue, he began his lifelong journey with the United States Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.). In his first position, he was a biometrician in the Biometrical Services Staff of the Agricultural Research Service. As such, he worked with the Animal Disease Eradication Division and the Animal Health Division, which, in 1971, became part of the Veterinary Services (V.S.) program of the newly created Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Dr. Beal began his long and distinguished tenure with V.S. on July 1, 1972. The U.S.D.A. noted at the time of his retirement that, Dr. Beal has been at the center of our eradication efforts. Support for goals to eradicate diseases nationwide required sound analysis and integrity. By applying the knowledge learned at Purdue University and in the Biometrical Services Staff, he immersed himself in developing statistically valid studies that guided the programs. To convince Congress that these efforts would be beneficial, it was absolutely essential that the analyses be sound. His work was key to the successes realized and is still valid these many years later. His colleagues and friends said they marveled at his intellect capacity and praised him for his unswerving honesty and integrity. He retired on May 15, 2003 at the age of 72. Throughout his life Dr. Beal quietly helped others in his personal life. Over the years he had donated 63 pints of blood to those in need. When a young lady was in dire need of a transfusion, he was there. She survived and now is a mother of five. He also helped children by serving as a science fair judge at an Arlington, Virginia school for a number of years. In his philanthropy, he donated considerable sums to his hometown library and church. He was preceded in death by his mother, Louise Beal on July 6, 1941; and by his father, Victor C. Beal, Sr. on May 21, 1980. Surviving are his step-mother, Lois U. Beal of Greenville; an aunt, Lorene Pederson of Oregon; a special cousin, DeAnna Phillipi of Oregon; several distant cousins; and many friends and colleagues. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Victor Beal, please visit our flower store.