Robert R. Beckham

ROBERT R. BECKHAM May 8, 1915 to March 21, 2010 Robert Round Beckham, 94, of Toledo, OH, passed away on Sunday, March 21, 2010 at the Sunset Village retirement home in Sylvania Ohio. He was born on May 8, 1915 in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest child of Carl and Edna Round Beckham. He was married to Rosemary Catherine for 64 years. Bob graduated from Scott High School in 1932 and was a 1942 graduate of the University of Michigan. He received his degree in Chemical Engineering while alternately attending school and working for Libbey-Owens-Ford tending the company's glass furnace. After college, Bob started his engineering career at Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan. Upon returning to Toledo in 1947, Bob continued his career as a research scientist for Libbey-Owens-Ford. Bob held a number of patents during his work there, including ones for safety glass, tinted windshields for sun glare, the antenna inside the windshield, and the float glass manufacturing process. He retired from LOF as Assistant Director of Research in 1980. Bob was a member of the Society of Professional Engineers and Blessed Sacrament Parish. Bob was quiet, but he had a witty intellect with a passion for inventions. He built his own 35mm camera when he couldn't afford to buy one while working his way through college. He also built a slide projector, a reflecting telescope, and installed his own security system. In the late 1950's, he installed his own automatic garage door opener, a novelty that captivated the neighborhood kids. He had to remove the solar cell that triggered the door opener when hit by the car headlights because the kids would use a flashlight to open the door. He enjoyed photography and gardening as well as many fun vacations with his family, including camping, rain or shine. Bob is survived by his wife Rosemary and children Bob, Jr., Carol Lewandowski, and Jim (Kathy). Also surviving are grandchildren Julie (Chris) Bursten, Jason Lewandowski, Tim (Lisa) Lewandowksi , Brent, Amanda, and Kaitlin Beckham and great-grandchildren Katya and Mariska Lewandowksi . Bob was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Carl, and sisters Clara, Alice, Jessie, Grace and Ruth. Visitation will be held Sunday March 28, 2010 from 1pm to 7pm, with wake services at 6:30pm, at the Ansberg West Funeral Home, 3000 W. Sylvania Ave., Toledo, OH. Funeral services will begin with closing prayers in the funeral home at 10:30am Monday, March 29, 2010, followed at 11am by the Mass of Christian burial celebrated by Rev. Martin Donnelly at Blessed Sacrament Church. Internment will follow at Toledo Memorial Park Cemetery in Sylvania, Ohio. Memorial contributions may be made to Sunset Retirement Communities or to the scholarship fund at one of the following Toledo high schools: Central Catholic High School, Notre Dame Academy, St. Francis de Sales High School, or St. Ursula Academy. Bob's family would especially like to thank the staff at Sunset Village for all the love and care that he received from them during the last 4 years.

Robert R. Beckham

May 8, 1915 - March 21, 2010