William M. Beaty

William M. "Bill" Beaty passed away peacefully surrounded by family and friends on April 21, 2011 at the age of 94 due to complications following a fall in late December. He was born in Ontario, Oregon on July 11, 1916 to Jesse James Beaty and Mae Edith Morton. Following graduation from Oakland (CA) High School, Bill attended the University of California, Berkeley where he received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Forestry in 1938. While attending Cal he met Georgia Snyder, his future bride and they were married on July 6, 1940. Following graduation Bill accepted a permanent position on the Timber Management staff of Modoc National Forest in Alturas, CA. They started married life living out of two tents in Hackamore on the Devils Garden District of the Modoc…one of the tents was to sleep in and the other was for cooking…and the water stopped at a faucet at the front flap. Camping out not being something a city girl was accustomed to, it wasn't long before they bought their first home in Alturas and he began working out of the Forest Supervisor's Office.While in Alturas, Bill enjoyed playing baseball for the Alturas Tigers and there were even a couple of years when he competed in the calf roping event at the Likely Rodeo.

Bill served in the US Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He served in the 1539th Engineers Base Survey Company in England, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany before returning stateside and going back to the Modoc National Forest in late 1945. Bill and Georgia's son Donald was born in 1946.

In 1950 Bill was hired away from the US Forest Service and accepted a job with Shasta Forests Company (SHAFCO), a forest management company set up by the heirs of Minnesota lumberman TB Walker to manage the family's large timberland holdings in northeastern California. The family moved to Redding that same year and Bill began setting up the grazing plans and leases on the lands under SHAFCO'S management.He held positions of increasing responsibility within the organization before being promoted to General Manager in 1962, overseeing roughly 750,000 acres of timberland during the period 1962 through 1970. Following the liquidation of SHAFCO, and at the urging of several Walker principals, Bill along with several other senior managers established W.M. Beaty and Associates, Inc. to take over forest management of the Walker family's remaining lands. He retired or perhaps, more appropriately, paused in 1985.

In 1974 he was appointed by then Governor Ronald Reagan to the first California State Board of Forestry following passage of the landmark Z'Berg-Nejedly Forest Practices Act of 1973 and he has been a Society of American Foresters Fellow since 1982. He was a founding Director and two-term President of Forest Landowners of California and served on its Board for many years. In 2002 he was the recipient of the Francis H. Raymond Award, the highest honor awarded by the California State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection for excellence in Forestry. Most recently he was named the 2009 California Tree Farmer of the Year.

In addition to his over 60-year career in forestry, Bill also served on the Board of Trustees of the Shasta Union High School and Junior College District, was a longtime member and past president of the Shasta County YMCA and was a past president of the Redding Rotary Club, Riverview Golf & Country Club and the Shingletown Volunteer Fire Department. He is a former Trustee of Mercy Medical Center-Redding and Board member of Mercy Foundation North. He was instrumental in creating Paul Bunyan Forest Camp at Turtle Bay as well as a past president and director emeritus of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park. In 1998,the Redding Chamber of Commerce selected Bill as its Citizen of the Year.

Maybe it was his solid upbringing or growing up during the Great Depression or his experiences during World War II, but whatever it was, Bill always knew who he was and given his amazing inner-strength, confidence and energy, he was always comfortable in his own skin. He was a wonderful husband, father and friend who went about the routine of daily life with humility, kindness and generosity and that ever present twinkle in his eye. He was a man who gave of himself to many people and was a leader and a counselor who inspired many by example to better themselves and to enrich their lives by service to others. Go Bears!

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Georgia, his beloved wife of 65 years and his sister Veneta Beaty Nourse. He leaves behind his son Don, daughter-in law Judy and three nieces, Carol Nourse Shuey (Ben), Alicia Nourse, and Patricia Nourse Buhles.

Interment will be private. There will be a public celebration of Bill's life on Tuesday, May 24, 2011 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Riverview Golf & Country Club. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to either the Cardiac Care Unit or Hospice Program at Mercy Medical Center-Redding c/o Mercy Foundation North, 2400 Washington Avenue, Suite 410, Redding,CA 96001 or to Turtle Bay Exploration Park, 1335 Arboretum Drive, Redding, CA 96003 or to a charity of your choice.

Arrangements under the direction of McDonald's Chapel, Redding, CA.