artin Michel Beer
AGE: 88 • Kennett Square, PA
Martin Michel Beer died Wednesday, April 4, 2012 in Kennett Square, PA at the age of 88. He was known for his energetic and cheerful disposition, his interest in Quaker causes, and his devotion to family. Martin was born in the Saarland, now Germany, to Otto Beer, a businessman, and Lucy Homburger Beer. He immigrated to the United States via France as a young teenager. He finished high school at Brooklyn Technical High School, where he excelled at mathematics and swimming. After service in WW II, he earned a BA from Earlham College and subsequently an MA from the University of Maryland, preparing him for a lifetime of teaching. He did post-graduate work in mathematics as recipient of five National Science Foundation fellowships, studying at the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, and Harvard University. In 1950, he met Winifred Cadbury at Cambridge (Quaker) Meeting, their first date, naturally, a bicycle ride. They were married in 1951 and raised four daughters. Winifred (Winnie) died in 1996 after a long battle with breast cancer. After teaching at Westtown and Sidwell Friends Schools, Martin settled into 30 years of teaching mathematics at Haddonfield Memorial High School, retiring in 1983. Asked which sport he would coach, archery or golf, he chose golf (having never played) and led Haddonfield to multiple state championships. For four consecutive years, he received the South Jersey Coaches outstanding golf coach award. He served as a member and president of the Association of Mathematics Teachers of New Jersey.
He often said that "life begins at 40," the age at which Martin and Winnie began their grand experiment, which they called Haddon Cycle Tours. Every summer they took a group of high school students bicycling through Europe, touring London, Paris, Munich, and the countryside, educating teenagers about history and culture. Fluent in German and French, Martin managed the inevitable challenges which the combination of teenagers and travel presented. After his retirement, they continued these bicycling expeditions with adult participants until Winnie's illness curtailed their adventures. At the end of each summer, they returned to the United States tan, fit, and happy to have brought the trip of a lifetime to so many. On February 23, 1972, Martin received the Haddonfield Rotary Club's highest award, "What's Right with America," which praised him as "A Friend of Youth." The award reads, "Your counseling and guidance of them has generated a 'people to people' contact, which works for the greater cause of world peace and human understanding."
A convinced Friend (Quaker), Martin attended Haddonfield Friends Meeting and then Kendal Friends Meeting after his retirement. His faith was apparent in his reliable attendance at Sunday meeting and his service on committees and in leadership positions, including clerk of the Meeting. He believed in simplicity of living, service to others, pacifism, and equality for women and men and for people of all backgrounds and beliefs. In the mid 1950s, Martin and Winnie were leaders in the American Friends Service Committee's "Interns in Industry Program." In 1965, he became president of the Council of Churches in Haddonfield, broadening his influence in the community. He could be found in his basement mimeographing newsletters for Haddonfield Meeting, the League of Women Voters, and various other non-profit organizations. He was well known for his ability to fix bicycles and other useful articles. Children from all over town would drop off a disabled bike and return to pick up a reconditioned one a few days later. After his retirement from teaching, he spent eight years in nearly full-time community service, managing the accounts of the Friends Fiduciary Corporation, which invests and distributes funds on behalf of Quaker institutions. Martin was an active member of the General Committee of Westtown School for nine years. In 1992, he and Winnie moved to Kendal at Longwood, a Quaker retirement community in Kennett Square, PA, where he could indulge his love of gardening, repairing and woodworking in the shop, and assisting those less physically able. Martin continued to travel widely and spend time with his grandchildren, cheering their scholastic and athletic endeavors. He was renowned for his jokes and his interest in everyone, distributing chocolates and other goodies to young and old alike.
Martin Beer's survivors include four daughters, Michelle Caughey (Woodside, CA), Carol Benson (Boston, MA), Janet Garrett (Asheville, NC) and Christine (Spee) Braun (East Chatham, NY); sister, Hilda Grauman; brother, John Beer, and 12 grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Winifred and his sister, Lise Stein.
A memorial service is planned for Saturday, April 28, 2012, at Kendal at Longwood in Kennett Square, PA. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Martin's memory to the American Friends Service Committee or the Quaker Leadership Fund of Westtown School.