Stanley Williams Beetham

Stanley Williams Beetham, 67, management strategist and advisor to corporate leaders, politicians, and nonprofit organizations, died on Sunday, February 25 of pneumonia after a six month struggle with pancreatic cancer. Born in Idaho on November 2, 1933, he was a 1952 graduate of Seattle?s Franklin High School. He earned a BA in 1956 form Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and awarded a Fulbright fellowship to the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He was a Marshall scholar and Wilson National Fellow at Harvard. Mr. Beetham is listed in Who?s Who in America. He was also a member of the Rainier Club.

Beetham?s business career took him to Uniroyal, General Electric, and Benton & Bowles, among others. He became partner and senior consultant at Booz Allen & Hamilton, where he developed the overall strategic plan for the firm; and at Hay Associates, where he was known for his ?enterprise strategy? approach to top corporate management?s.

In the 1970?s Beetham was a candidate for U.S. Congress in Illinois and served as advisor to Chicago?s Mayor Richard J. Daley, recommending the establishment of an Economic Development Commission, the centerpiece for ?the city that works.?

As Senior Vice President during U.S. Tobacco?s most expansive overall growth period, he was the top corporate officer in charge of planning, development, and corporate affairs and directed the acquisition of a number of companies, including Chateau Ste. Michelle of Woodinville. Following his corporate career, Beetham returned to Seattle and Brinnon, Washington, advising many other organizations, including the Seattle Opera. He had a real passion for opera, attending the Prague and Vienna Operas despite his illness, examining European health care in the process. He served on the board of AHA International, which operates foreign study programs for Northwest colleges and universities. His intellectual energy and enthusiasm were as memorable as was the speed of his powerboat along the Hood Canal. ?Stan always saw things differently,? said Dr. Robert Selby, Executive Director of AHA. ?Confronting the most mundane details of business, he could take flight. While trying to explain some organizational principle to me, he once resorted to the metaphor of how Mozart annotated his operatic scores. Both points were equally lost on me. On the other hand, when dealing with lofty abstractions, he could suddenly bring them down to earth. ?We?re dealing with the clay now,? he said, summarizing the mutual dread of our shared cancers.? Mt. Rainier, which he climbed, was a special place to Stan, as was Elysium, the waterfront retreat he and Barbara shared on the Hood Canal. ?It?s where I?ll go to mourn him,? said Barbara.

Beetham was predeceased by his parents, Harry Stanley and Mary Williams Beetham, as well as his younger brother, Brad. He leaves his wife, Barbara, his daughter, Lara Mary Monasch of New York; two grandchildren, Ryan Ross, Shayna Tess; step daughter, Amii Barnard-Bahn of the Bay Area, and a stepson, Brett David Barnard of Phoenix, as well as his sister Gwen Breitenborn and sister-in-law Christine Beetham, both of Seattle.

Following the private graveside services the day before. A celebration of his life will be held on Sunday, March 4, 2001 at 3:00PM at The Rainier Club; 820 4th Ave, Seattle. Arrangements by Evergreen-Washelli Funeral Home.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Kaplan Cancer Research Fund, c/o Swedish Tumor Institute, 1221 Madison St. suite #200, Seattle, WA.