Rick Beebe

Richard Knowles Beebe Jr., 74, passed away October 23, 2020, at his home in Santa Rosa. Richard, known by most as Rick, was born May 4, 1946, in Torrington, CT, to the Rev. Richard Knowles and Jane ( Rogers) Beebe. He grew up in Cornwall, CT, and Briarcliff, NY, and graduated from The Hill School in 1963 and Wesleyan University in 1967. In 1973, he received his master’s in counseling at Antioch University.

Rick served in the Peace Corps in Turkey from 1967 to 1969 and met Pamela Cordts on vacation in Greece. Rick and Pam were married in San Mateo, CA, in 1969 by Rick’s father and lived in New England for years before moving to California, where they raised their family. Rick worked as vice president of corporate communications at Bank of America in San Francisco until his retirement in 2001.

An avid backpacker, Rick ( aka “Snowbird”) achieved his dream of hiking on all seven continents, logging over 2,200 miles. Highlights included the Appalachian Trail, the Tahoe Rim Trail, the John Muir Trail, the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Grand Canyon, the Pacific Crest Trail, Mt. Kilimanjaro, the Paine Circuit in Chile, the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Routeburn Track in New Zealand, the Walker’s Haute Route from Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn, and one cold, wet night on the ice in Antarctica. On his layovers at home, he enjoyed a good book and a cold IPA.

Rick shared many other hobbies and interests with his family, inspiring many of their pursuits. He was most fond of the outdoors, traveling, camping, cross- country skiing, food, photography, music, and literature. Vacations included road trips and river rafting, national parks and historical sites. He was a lifelong choral singer and sang with Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo. Later, he joined the Sonoma Bach Choir, where he was both a chorus member and board member.

Rick was a longtime member of Pacific Swimming, serving as swim official, board member, webmaster, and times recognition chairman. He was also a board member and active parent participant of the Mid- Peninsula Mariners Swim Team and friend to many Masters swimmers and coaches on the peninsula and within USA Swimming.

In addition to his wife, Rick is survived by his daughters, Jessica Beebe and her spouse, Gwendolyn Rino, of Oakland, CA, and Damaris Beebe Barbour and her husband, Brandon Barbour, of Millbrae, CA; and his brother, David Camp Beebe, of Amherst, MA. Rick’s reserved manner, practicality, and understated humor will be greatly missed.

Due to public health concerns, no in- person memorial service is planned. Friends may contact the family for information about an online celebration.

If you would like to honor Rick’s memory, please spend a moment outdoors and consider donating to the Yosemite Conservancy ( 101 Montgomery Street Suite 1700, San Francisco, CA 94104) or to your favorite state or national park.