Sally V. Beaty

Sally graduated from Downers Grove (IL) High School and continued her studies at the University of Illinois. An early job working for a radio station in Atlanta helped spark an enduring interest in radio and television. In 1957 Sally married fellow-classmate Howard VanDenburgh. Four children and many moves later she finished her bachelor’s degree at Jacksonville (FL) University in the new field of educational television. Her children recall being actors in some of her student projects. They also recall her many interests and boundless energy which sometimes seemed to defy the need for sleep and food. In Kansas City in 1972 Sally met the man who would become the love of her life, Chuck Beaty. Over the next couple of years she got her master’s degree in television and film from the University of Kansas while simultaneously being a parent, holding down a full-time job, and even typing the doctoral thesis Chuck was working on at the University of Iowa. Chuck and Sally married in December, 1974, and together raised their children.

The couple made the decision to move to Southern California. Both actively looked for jobs there, but Sally was the first to get an offer, taking on a position with a fledgling educational television organization called the Southern California Consortium for Community College Television which was formed in partnership with local community colleges and the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. She and Chuck moved west in 1976, eventually settling in Riverside, CA. Under Sally’s leadership over the next several decades the Consortium, and later its production arm, INTELECOM, became a distance learning powerhouse that produced both documentary and dramatic educational television programs with accompanying print materials that were broadcast nationally on PBS and distributed to colleges, universities, and government agencies around the world. The subject matter of the “telecourses” which Sally meticulously scripted and produced, at a rate of one every two years and comprising over twenty courses during her leadership, spanned a broad range of college curricula, from oceanography and physics to government, the social sciences, and business. As an educator and a lifelong learner the chance to immerse herself in such different fields of human knowledge had great appeal for Sally.

Among her award-winning productions was "The Mechanical Universe and Beyond," a far-reaching introductory physics course produced in the 1980’s through a partnership with the California Institute of Technology and one of the first television college courses to be funded by the Annenberg/CPB Project. It is still in use today. Another was the 1996 release, "Crossroads Café," a highly impactful dramatic instructional television series for English as a Second Language learners made possible by an innovative multi-state and federal partnership with INTELECOM. A colleague wrote, “One of Sally’s many gifts, as a leader and a human being, was her delight in engaging with people. She gave to each and every person her attention, open mind, and respect. She would sit down to interview a guest for one of her productions the way a foodie sits down to a favorite meal: with real relish and looking to savor every moment.” Another commented, “There was never a time she was not doing the work of at least three people. There was never a time she could not climb the highest mountain. She simply was exceptional.”

Despite the demands of her career Sally always made the time to support Chuck and to nurture her children and grandchildren. Her curiosity, enthusiasm, and drive were an inspiration to those around her.

After her retirement in 2009 Sally had time to become more involved in her local community, serving first as a docent for the Mission Inn and then as president of the Mission Inn Foundation. After completing her master gardener coursework she also became a docent at the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens. Sally had genuine care for and a lively interest in people, often gathering family and friends around food, conversation and games. She is sorely missed by her relatives, friends, and colleagues.

Sally is survived by her loving husband of 50 years, Chuck Beaty; four children: Vicki VanDenburgh (Jim Russell) of Southwest Harbor, ME, Debra VanDenburgh of Reno, NV, Julia Smith of Tustin, CA, and John VanDenburgh (Robin) of Riverside, CA; stepdaughter Sherry McLean (Roger) of Kansas City, KS; stepdaughter-in-law Christina Beaty Olson (Daniel); fifteen grandchildren: Amanda Pentecost (Joshua), Philip Olson, Paul Olson (Danielle), Allison Blair (Spencer Bonilla), Andrew VanDenburgh, Alexandre Beaty (Cheyenne), Mary Ann Duket (Jeremy), Kathryn VanDenburgh, Ashleigh Beaty, Julia Zozulia (Roman), Caroline Blair, Abigail Beaty, Emily VanDenburgh, Kendall VanDenburgh, and Luke Olson; and four great-grandchildren: Thorin Pentecost, Hosea Beaty, Ruth Pentecost, and Charley Beaty. Sally was predeceased by her stepson Charles Stewart Beaty (Christina) and by her brother, Donald Johnson.

A celebration of Sally’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on March 15, 2025, at Sandals Church-Palm Avenue, 6807 Palm Ave., Riverside, CA 92506. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Mission Inn Foundation, 3750 Market St., Riverside, CA 92501, https://www.missioninnmuseum.org/donate/.