In Memoriam - Ralph Beard

In Memoriam

Ralph BeaRd

From NLGI…

Our dear friend and colleague, Ralph Beard, passed away in Montgomery, AL on Thursday, March 3rd, 2016. All who knew him will mourn his loss.

Ralph was an active member of NLGI, STLE, SAE and ASTM. He had been very active in establishing the lubricant industry’s only North American undergraduate minor in the field, the Tribology & Lubrication Sciences Program at Auburn University. He also served on its Industry Board of Advisors. His support and efforts in these endeavors will be sorely missed.

Receiving his B.S. from Auburn University in 1971, Ralph began his over 45 year career in the lubricants industry with Union 76, followed by Keil Chemical and in 1981 he was named Technical Director of The Farm Oil Company. Returning to his native Alabama in 1990, he formed his own company, Triad Lubrication Components. He sold Triad to Palmer Holland in 2010, but continued to serve as V.P. of Lubrication Components. In the last few years he had served as the Global Lubricant Technical & Business Development Manager for Dorf Ketal and then served as Director of Corporate Development for Functional Products.

Goodbye, Ralph, we will always remember your kindness, wit, wisdom and tenacity.

I met Ralph years ago at an international conference where I'd been invited as a speaker but as a first time attendee was an outsider and frankly, feeling lost. At lunch, by happenstance I took the seat next to Ralph and by the time coffee came, I had a lifelong friend and colleague. Ralph was warm, inviting, bitingly funny, humble, generous and a true gentleman; I will miss him enormously. My very deepest condolences to the Beard family on their immeasurable loss.

~ Sarah Krol, NSF International

In September, 2014, Ralph stayed at our house in Branson overnight on his way to Kansas. Auburn was to play Kansas State the next day in football and Ralph was an Auburn fan extraordinaire. While visiting, he noticed a 1/64th diecast model of a Union 76 (Unocal) tank truck I had in my collection. Come to find out, he had worked at the Unocal plant where years before I had done a consulting project. He had worked for Unocal for many years and the small truck brought back a lot of memories for him, many of which he expressed with great admiration. Long story short, we presented him with the scale model Unocal tank truck as a gift at the 2015 NLGI conference. He said it would have a place of honor on his bookshelf at home. We were pleased to be able to bring a little joy from the past into his life. The truck couldn’t have had a better home. We’ll miss Ralph.

~ Dick Burkhalter

I first got to know Ralph at our Annual Meeting in 2009, Loews Ventana Canyon. It was a rough economic year, attendance was down. I stepped outside in the dark after the Tuesday dinner and I thought I heard Ron White! Turns out it was Ralph in his fur-lined Crocs, in June, in Arizona, and we were fast friends from then on. Of course, I don’t think you could meet Ralph and not be his friend. I will miss him very much, his humor, his passion for this industry and his zest for life. He went much too soon.

~ Kim Hartley, Executive Director, NLGI

I have known Ralph for over a decade and I still remember the first time we met. His southern hospitality and charm, as well as his unique sense of humor immediately drew me to him and ever since then, we became friends. Just thinking of him as I write this, brings a smile to my face.

The first time we met was at NLGI one late evening and we hit it right off. He spent over 2 hrs that evening with me, explaining all that he knew about an important subject : Bourbon ; which ones he liked and why, how to differentiate one bourbon from another, and I am certain I learned something more useful that evening from him, than I had, all that day listening to NLGI papers.

Ever since, and it has been over 10 years, whenever I do drink a bourbon, a smile crosses my face and I think of Ralph. He educated me on an “important subject”, that I knew not much about, like only he could, and I will always value that lesson from him all my life. As someone once said, some folks come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, and leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never the same. Ralph was one of those , who has left many a footprint in the lives of numerous NLGI members, both young and old. We will all miss you, my friend

~ Raj Shah

In Memory of Ralph From the Beard Family

Ralph Beard, 67 years old and a servant of God, passed away suddenly on Wednesday, March 2nd, 2016. He is survived by his devoted wife of 40 years, Janet Beard (Berglund), his two sons, Brian P. Beard and his partner Wesley Hansen; and Robert G. Beard and his wife Ashley Beard. He was also blessed with three beautiful granddaughters, Lola James Beard (Lee), 7 years old, Melody Bree Norwood, 7 years old, and Olivia Grace Beard, 10 months old. He was pre-deceased by his parents Ralph G. Beard Sr. and Roberta Threadgill Beard. Also mourning his loss are his extended family, friends, business associates and the Auburn University family.

Ralph was born in Birmingham, Alabama on September 4th, 1948. An only child, he considered his friends from the Woodlawn High School class of 1966 as his brothers and sisters for which he maintained strong bonds with until his death. Ralph went onto Auburn University and graduated in 1971 with a degree in Marine Biology. During these years, his passion for Auburn University grew, it became his life's work to support his alma mater, on and off the field. After college he married the love of his life Janet Berglund of Minnetonka, MN. There he raised two sons, coached little league sports and mentored many kids. Returning to his Southern roots in 1990, he became a season ticket holder for Auburn football games. In that time, he started his own business and became a stalwart in the oil and lubrication industry. A learned man, he was often reading or looking for something else to discover. These traits he passed along to his sons. He never met an enemy and was loved by all.

Funeral Services were held at Holy Spirit Catholic Church at 8570 Vaughn Rd, Montgomery, AL 36117 at 1:00PM on Saturday, March 12th, 2016.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Auburn University Foundation in memory of Ralph Beard. Send contributions stating in memory of Ralph Beard to the attention of David Mattox, Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, 1320 Shelby Center, Auburn, AL 36849.