08/25/2008: "Beverly Graham"

October 23, l926.- August 23, 2008

Beverly B. Graham, a pioneer in the field of aeronautical engineering and a long time resident of Shaw Island, died August 23, 2008, at R House Adult Family Home is Friday Harbor. She was 82 years old.

She was born in Worcester, MA, on October 23, l926. She and another child, her beloved adoptive brother Robert, were adopted and raised together by Herman and Eldora Bean of Fitchburg, MA.

Beverly excelled at mathematics and after graduation from Fitchburg High School in 1943 she went on to receive Batchelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1952, after a period of employment at United Aircraft Corp., she joined Douglas Aircraft in Santa Monica, CA. There Beverly was twice awarded the Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship for further study, and in 1960 she became the first woman ever to earn a Ph.D. in Aeronautical Engineering from MIT.

While at Douglas Aircraft she also met her future husband, Ernest W. Graham. They married in 1965 and from then on lived and worked together in their home overlooking Indian Cove on Shaw Island.

As Graham Associates they consulted for Boeing and other aircraft companies on problems of theoretical fluid mechanics, turbulance and jet noise. Their work was well known and highly respected by their peers.

Beverly and Ernest enjoyed a loving partnership based on their work and on a shared appreciation of community and the natural world. Together, they donated land for the Shaw Community Building. A devout Christian, Beverly was a mainstay of the non-denominational Shaw Fellowship, and out of her love for books and learning, she gave countless hours in support of the Shaw Island Library and served for many years on the Shaw Islannd School Board.

Her beautiful roses and garden delighted passersby, and she was a champion of animal welfare. Her kindness, modesty and devotion inspired many true and lasting friendships.

After Ernest’s death in 2002, Beverly came to live on San Juan Island. By then her brilliant mind was dimmed by Alzheimer’s Disease, but her extraordinary sweetness of spirit remained to the end.

She is survived by sisters-in-law Martha Graham Smithmeyer of Seattle, and Marjorie Bean of Arlington, MA. Memorial contributions my go to the Shaw Island Library and Historical Society, P.O. Box 844, Shaw Island, WA, 98286.