Maximo Monheit-Beck

He was born in Barranquilla, Colombia on August 5th, 1944, to Neftali and Sara Monheit. He completed elementary school at the Hebreo Unión and went on to complete his middle and high school education at the Colegio Americano in Barranquilla in 1961. He then attended the Universidad del Atlántico in Barranquilla and received a degree in Chemical Engineering in 1966. After completing his Masters in Chemical Engineering at Montana State University in 1968 with a Fulbright Scholarship, he worked for Container Corporation of America (1969-1970), Premon Industria Química (a dental product company) with his brother (1971-1974), and Du Pont Nemours (1975-1977). He also served as an Associate Professor of heat transfer in the Departments of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering at the Universidad del Atlántico for four years.

He married his wife, Jacqueline Graubard, on August 4th,1979 and promised to always love and cherish her. A promise made and a promise kept. They moved to Houston, where he worked for Hudson Products Corporation (1981-1988) and Lockheed Engineering and Sciences Company for NASA. He published several papers at the National Heat Transfer Conference in Houston, sponsored by American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AICHE), American Society of Metallurgy (ASM). His developments in the heat pipe exchanger and heat transfer were utilized on the Trans Alaskan Pipeline and at Lockhead in the NASA Project.

At age 52, he decided to pursue a second Master's degree at the University of Houston Clear Lake in Accounting, while still working at NASA. After he successfully attained his license, he worked independently as a CPA until his retirement.

He was an exemplary son, husband, and uncle. He was a kind and noble person, with an infectious, cheerful spirit. He became a father figure to the Graubard children after his father-in-law passed away in 1984. He was respected and loved for all his good deeds. He loved to play chess and was even named Subchampion Collegiate Player.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Sara and Neftali Monheit. He is survived by his wife Jacqueline Graubard Monheit, mother-in-law Lia Graubard, brother Miguel Monheit, brothers-in-law Michael, Carlos, and Robert Graubard, and Melvin Cweren; sisters-in-law Judy Spitz Monheit, Lisa, Reina, and Lucy Graubard, and Susan Cweren; nephews and nieces Ruben, Alegria, Eliecer, and Rivka Monheit, Jocelyn, Sarah, Rachel, and Ervin Graubard, and Caroline and Alex Cweren; great nephew and nieces Ari, Tirza, and Sara Devora Monheit.

We will all miss you, Max.

The funeral will be private, please join via a live stream on Tuesday, September 8, 2020 at 12:00 pm. Instructions below.

All funerals in the Bender Memorial Chapel are automatically streamed live and recorded. Both the livestream and the archived recordings can be found on the Beth Yeshurun website as follows:

Go to the Beth Yeshurun website, bethyeshurun.org, then

Click on Transitions at the top of the page, then

Click on Cemetery: Bender Memorial Chapel Streaming Video