Stafford "Sandy" Bacon Beach Jr.

Sandy Beach died of kidney failure on February 29, 2016. He was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, in 1930, in a three-story frame house at 411 S. Flagler Drive. His father, Stafford B. Beach, was born in the same house. The house was one of Florida's earliest landmarks, set on Fern Street, beside Lake Worth. Sandy was a 5th generation Floridian. His grandfather, John Beach, came to Sebastian, FL, in 1883, from Rome, NY. John Beach was a horticulturist and he established a nursery in Sebastian. John sold supplies to farmers by traveling up and down the coast by sailboat. John married Annie Bacon of Lake City, FL, who was the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. William Bacon, and the granddaughter of Col. William T. Ross, of Jacksonville, FL. Col. Ross fought for the Confederacy in the Battle of Olustee. John and Annie Beach came to West Palm Beach in 1894, and bought their house-lot from Henry Flagler.

Sandy's maternal grandfather was F.E. Bryant. F.E. and his brother, Gilbert, helped found Lake Worth, FL. Then F.E. turned his eyes toward the Everglades, where he began the South Florida Sugar and Fruit Products Company, in Canal Point, FL. This company was later sold to the U.S. Sugar Company. The town of Azucar changed its name to Bryant, upon F.E.'s death.

Sandy attended the Palm Beach School through 8th grade. In the 9th grade he went to Sewanee Military Academy, in Sewanee, TN. He graduated in 1947, and then went to Cornell University. He graduated in Civil Engineering, class of 1951, with a BCE. During that time he married Joan Aten, also a Cornell graduate. Together they raised 3 children: Jeffrey Beach, Diana Beach Barrett, and Dr. Reginald Beach. There are 4 grandchildren: Quentin and Hailey Barrett of Seattle, WA, and Olivia and Sophia Beach of Arlington, VA.

Sandy began his working career at Republic Aviation, where he worked on the F104 fighter jet, in the field of Reliability and Safety. The family moved to Wellesley, MA, where they lived for 33 years. Sandy worked for Avco Missile Systems on 'smart' weapons, the Apollo rocket heat shield, and the Minuteman missiles. Those missiles are still in place. Sandy was an appointed member of the National Aerospace Industries Association, and he was an active member of Wellesley Country Club: he just loved to play golf.

Upon retirement, the Beaches returned to Florida and lived for many years on Hypoluxo Island. That property had been in the Beach family since it was a tomato farm. Sandy was President of the Lantana Library, and he was on the Board of the Atlantis Golf Club for 9 years. He was also President of the Centurians, a group helping the Habilitation Center of Palm Beach County. He was a member of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, a church started, in part, by his grandparents.

Sandy. Your friend. What a nice gentleman.