Tom Beynon

Tom Beynon, age 67, died on April 6, 2006 at his home in Austin, Texas. Until his stroke in July of 2005, he lived his life fully, believing that “Life is ours to be spent, not to be saved,” as D.H. Lawrence once wrote. Tom was born in 1938 in Corpus Christi, the third of four children of Edna Priour Beynon and Eugene Thomas Beynon. His parents owned a radio repair shop. At Miller High School, Tom met his wife of 45 years, Victoria Edwards, whom he married in 1961. Tom was the first member of his family to graduate from college. He began studying at the University of Texas in 1956, from which he earned a PhD in Chemical Engineering. On his first trip out of Texas, he hitchhiked up to New York City, from which he flew to Denmark to work as a summer intern in a Copenhagen cardboard factory. After earning his degree, Tom worked in industry designing sprinkler systems in the Panhandle, running an ammonia pipeline between Texas and Iowa, and for the company Hill Chemical. He also tried running a fish restaurant before investing in rental property. Besides fixing everything that could possibly go wrong at his apartments, Tom taught chemical engineering in Oregon, Turkey, Wyoming, Algeria, and finally at his alma-mater, UT Austin. One of the poems that Tom enjoyed was Invictis, which ends, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” Each day, it was evident that Tom was the master of his fate... on his ranch herding and branding and building and planning. His spirit was kin to the post-WWII American idealism and "can-do" attitude. For his many friends and extensive family, Tom was ready to solve a problem, build a barn, fix a sink, put on a roof, raise a barn, throw a party, make a contraption, and more. His generosity was legendary. He delighted in inviting people to his lake house or ranch house and taking them boating, hunting, riding in his jaunting-cart, or out to see old-timey Texas music or rodeos. His Christmas, Easter, and Halloween parties were renowned for the creative games, sing-alongs, plays, readings, R2D3s, giant Easter eggs, chainsaw-wielding ghouls, and flashing Rube Goldberg-like machines. Children and adults looked forward to these gatherings that celebrated fun, family, friends, and food. Tom's vision, creativity, and belief in the curative effects of hard work are well stated by the ancient Roman, Horace, who wrote, “Carpe diem! Rejoice while you are alive; enjoy the day; live life to the fullest; make the most of what you have. It is later than you think.” Tom often remarked while visiting ancient Roman aqueducts and ruins that he was a Roman at heart—enjoying running water, baths, good roads, and organized government. At his house in Austin or his farm in Kenedy, Tom kept humorous postcards, plaques, and bumper stickers that represented his philosophy of life. On his Ms. Pac-Man machine he posted: "Life is not a dress rehearsal." Over the couch in Kenedy, a sign read, "If you want to be miserable, think only of yourself." His keen business sense was well-summed up by two other signs: "There are two things certain in life: death and taxes” and a postcard with a picture of a lean worried man (who “sold on credit”) and fat happy man (“who sold on cash”). And of course, he had an "I Love Fireworks" and a “Pac-Man Addict” sticker posted too. Tom also collected objects that represented his eclectic interests-- artifacts from Turkey, a ten-foot long Brazilian blowgun and with a sheath of arrows, a bowl made from a gourd by American Indians, many arrow heads that he was so adept at finding, a silk Persian rug from Kuwait, and many other treasures. His uniquely creative practicality is reflected in the two houses in Kenedy that he built from the ground up, as well as renovations and add-ons at his lake house and at his home in Austin. He'd even built a zip line in his backyard for the children to slide on next to a playhouse with an elaborate metal slide descending from the roof. Tom’s boyish enthusiasm for adventure took him to many places in the world-- just before his stroke in August, he'd planned a trip to the Mayan ruins in Tikal with his wife, daughter, cousin, and three of his grandchildren. Through his travels and reading of history, he was knowledgeable about an array of topics. Tom is survived by his wife, Victoria; his Aunt Pat of Austin; his three siblings, Bonnie Trexler of San Antonio, Susan Winhoven of San Antonio, and Frank Beynon of Austin; his daughters and their husbands, Rebecca Beynon and Michael Borek, Elizabeth and Clayton Stice, Kathleen and Barry McConachie, and Sharon Beynon and Alexander Kolesnik; and nine grandchildren, Brian Stice, Jeffrey Stice, Ellen Stice, and David Stice, Mark McConachie, Ian McConachie, Andrew McConachie, Emma Kolesnik, and Finn Kolesnik. Tom was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Edna Priour Beynon, and his father, Eugene Thomas Beynon. A few days before his death, Tom received a card that read, “Just remember and be strengthened by the joy you shared. You have made many hearts glad.” Tom will be enormously missed by the legions of family and friends with whom he shared his indomitable heart and soul. The family will receive friends from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home on Sunday, April 9, 2006. Services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, April 10, 2006 at Park Hills Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. Interment will follow at Austin Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to World Vision or a favorite charity. Obituary and guestbook on line at wcfish.com