William Glen MacBeth

1942 - 2026

William Glen MacBeth passed away peacefully on September 14, 2026, in Austin, Texas, after a courageous battle with Alzheimer's disease.

Bill was born on December 10, 1942, in Pontiac, Michigan. Like many families in the area at that time, his father worked in the auto industry. They also had a garden with potatoes, sweet corn, tomatoes, and raspberries that Bill would help harvest and, in the summertime, he would sell the produce in front of their house. He was surrounded by family and friends with a youth that was filled with wonderful memories playing baseball, water skiing at Cedar Island Lake, and countless stories of getting into mischief with grade school friends.

Educational excellence was a driving force in Bill’s life. He worked vigorously to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, and then his PhD at the University of Texas. His dissertation was based on how to achieve highly precise temperature measurement. To prove his research, he built a device himself that measured temperature to 3 millionths of a degree Centigrade - tying the world record at the time.

Bill worked hard throughout his professional career in engineering with countless achievements, but he also made time to indulge his playful spirit — from riding motorcycles and coaching his son Mark’s football team in his early years, to cracking jokes over lunch with coworkers and shooting hoops at the gym later in life.

Bill was also a lifelong hobbyist — astronomy, computer programming, building a backyard deck and greenhouse, growing orchids with his wife Ann, and photography. He immersed himself in each endeavor, all reflecting back a man who had deep technical knowledge, but even more significantly, a boundless passion for a full, rewarding life.

He was preceded in death by his father John MacBeth, stepfather Earl Parks, and mother Beulah May Parks. He is survived by his wife Andrea Gusman MacBeth, son Mark MacBeth, daughter-in-law Kerri MacPherson; stepdaughters Rita Price, Sonya Threlkeld, Kristie Kloss, Leslie Branam; sons-in-law Joe Marek, Ryan Threlkeld, Chris Kloss, Bryan Branam; grandchildren Angus MacPherson-MacBeth, Eilidh MacPherson-MacBeth, Wyatt Price, Andrea Threlkeld, Natalya Threlkeld, Sierra Threlkeld, Matthew Kloss, Isaiah Branam, and great-grandson Eli Threlkeld.