James W. Beatty, age 84, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, passed away on Saturday, December 15, 2018, with his wife Cathy by his side. He was a loving husband, father, and grandfather, a teacher, and a scholar. Jim was born on September 9, 1934 in Fargo, North Dakota to James Wayne Beatty and Evelyn Peterson Beatty.
He attended high school in Felton, Minnesota. After completing his undergraduate education at North Dakota State University in Fargo, North Dakota in 1956, he earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1960. He taught at Colby College in Waterville, Maine and then joined the faculty of Ripon College, Ripon, Wisconsin, where he taught Chemistry until his retirement in 2002.
A few years after his retirement, he moved to Sierra Vista, Arizona. Jim was an avid tennis player, and played frequently into his 80s. He was active in the tennis community in the Ripon and Green Lake area, and continued his passion for tennis in Sierra Vista.
A member of the Sierra Vista tennis community described Jim as “a guy that loved tennis so much, never complained about any injuries, and always showed up to play looking very stylish. A true gentleman in every way, a great friend. ’’ Jim was a master teacher who cared deeply about his students.
He also enjoyed bicycling, reading, gardening, and staying in contact with his extended family. Jim is survived by his wife, Catherine Phillips Beatty of Sierra Vista, Arizona, by his children James J. Beatty and his wife Anne of Columbus, Ohio, Matthew F. Beatty of Ocean Beach, California, and Karen A. Schmidt and her husband Jerry of Appleton, Wisconsin, and by his grandchildren Linus J. Beatty and Zoe G. Beatty of Columbus, Ohio and Mark J. Schmidt, Kyle M. Schmidt, and Kaitlyn M. Schmidt of Appleton, Wisconsin, by his sisters Joan Tabak of Sierra Vista, Arizona and Patricia Knauer of Scottsdale, Arizona and by his brother Tom Beatty and his wife Edith of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and by many cousins, nieces, and nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann Marie Johnson Beatty, his daughter-in-law Elizabeth McKenty, his parents James W. and Evelyn Beatty, and his sister Peggy Sather.
In accordance with his wishes, Jim has been cremated. There will be a mass in memory of Jim at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church in Sierra Vista, Arizona on January 20, 2019 at 9:30 a.m. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at St. Catherine of Sienna Catholic Church in Ripon, Wisconsin on Saturday, June 8, 2019, at 10:30 a.m. followed by inurnment at The Garden of the Cross in Ripon. Further details will be published closer to the date of the Ripon service.
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