ANN LOUISE HATCH BEYER July 14, 1929 – July 9, 2022
When Ann Louise Hatch Beyer passed away on Saturday, July 9, 2022, she would have said that she had completed her life. Ann had good relations with all her family – husband of 52 years, two children, father, mother, 1 brother, 1 brother-in-law, three daughters-in-law (two of their husbands), two grandchildren, 1 brother-in-law and both of his wives, three nephews and their spouses, 16 first cousins, five aunts, six uncles, two grandparents and two foster grandparents. Whew.
Then there were all her colleagues, many close friends, during her over 30 years working as a reference librarian at the Los Alamos Scientific/National Laboratory’s libraries. Both at the Health Physics and at the Main Library, Ann often referred to the working staff as true professionals. Before LASL/LANL She was a librarian at General Electric in Cincinnati (when GE was developing their J-79 afterburning engine), at State College, PA’s Ordinance Research Laboratory, and at Lincoln Laboratory near Boston, MA. But Los Alamos National Laboratory was Ann’s Number One.
On August 5, 1963, the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty, prohibiting atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons. One of the documents that was attached as a basis for this Treaty was compiled by Ann and a small group from the Laboratory Main Library. Along with another small team, she worked on a report, which was submitted to Sandia Laboratory regarding their purposed research into a prototype nuclear weapon. The classified report pointed out that this research had already been completed by Los Alamos, which resulted in a $1 million savings of government expenditures. Ann talked about one interesting and unique reference search that she did. A laboratory scientist wanted to know if there was any technology of the time (early 1970’s) that could sense whether a chicken egg was spoiled. She completed and provided the satisfied scientist a complete search report.
Ann was active in many non-profit groups in Los Alamos. American Association of University Women, the Unitarian Church, Special Libraries Association, League of Woman Voters, the Democratic Party, Opera Guild, Parent Teachers Association, Retired Public Employees Association of California, and Lunch Buddies program at Mountain Elementary School is not even a complete list. She was a 23-year docent at the Los Alamos Historical Museum. All of this help lead Ann to many friendships. Her son, Tom, often would run into someone he didn’t know, but that person would know his mom. “Ann Beyer! I know Ann. Everyone knows Ann.” Tom is unable to think of any enemies of her.
She had a wide and odd bunch of interests. Dogs (though Ann didn’t get her first dog until age 78), stuffed bears (her over 50 item collection ranges from a few inches to life sized), classical music and opera (listening and singing), wind chimes (most were destroyed by Los Alamos’s spring winds, marbles (her sons was delighted that Ann knew what clearies and steelies were), printing (growing up one of her most cherished possessions was an old-fashioned print set), books (primarily ones on the Wisconsin born architect Frank Lloyd Wright, history, the classics, and cooking), traveling to Western and Central Europe and especially the UK (Ann’s husband and her were Anglophiles), cooking (she often made memorable meals for guests), gadgets for cooking (her son has found some that he can’t figure who what their function is) , and trains (Ann hated to fly, but loved the elegance and romance of train travel).
She has been described as “scary smart” and “sharp as a tack”. Her children considered Ann to be the smartest in the family having won every game of trivial pursuit, with her father as a close second. Her knowledge was general with the ability to know obscure facts on many, many subjects. Good skills for a reference librarian. Her son called her his ‘Google Search Engine’.
Ann was born on Bastille Day, July 14, 1929, in Evansville, IL and died on July 9, 2022, in Los Alamos, NM just five days short of her 93rd birthday. She will be dearly missed by many, especially her Dachshund, Snoopy. But she described death like a library book – when it is due, the book needs to be returned.
She was pre-deceased by her parents, Mary Louise Duncan Hatch and Hobart Hannibal Hatch, her brothers, Charles Duncan Hatch and Alan Eugene Hatch (who passed away at 10 months), Ann’s husband, Willian Aaron Beyer, her daughter, Elizabeth Ann Beyer-Bartlett, and granddaughter, Emma Elizabeth Bartlett.
She is survived by her son Tom Beyer, son-in-law Dr. Lee Bartlett, Ann’s grandchildren Jennifer Bartlett (Jim Stewart) and Marisa Kelly (Danny Kelly), her great grandchildren Jeff Stewart and Alex Kelly, Ann’s nephews Dr. Dave Beyer (Jackie Davis), Bob Beyer (Janet Beyer), and Bill Buerschinger (Cherie Buerschinger), their children Dr. Chris Beyer (Edda Thors), Kathryn Beyer, and Madeine Beyer, and their grandchildren, Lucas Beyer and Vala Beyer, and her sister-in-laws, Kip Goldberg and Pat Beyer.
Donations in memory of Ann can be given to Española Animal Shelter, KHFM Radio, Lunch Buddies Foundation, or the Alzheimer’s Association. Services will be announced at a later time.
