Hadley Bean

Obituary For Hadley Bean

Hadley Lewis Bean passed away on February 22, 2024, in Montgomery, AL, from complications from PSP, a rare degenerative neurological disease. He was 79 years old. Born to Xarifa Sallume and Morris Bean on March 19, 1944, in Springfield, Ohio, he grew up on a farm outside of Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he lived with his mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, two aunts and four siblings.

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A graduate of Yellow Springs High School in 1962, Hadley went on to study math and physics at Antioch College, where he graduated with a BS in 1968. Hadley began his career teaching science in the Dayton, Ohio, public schools and then moved on to a career in computer science working for the United States Air Force as a Department of Defense Civilian at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, in 1970. In 1973 Hadley was transferred to Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama to continue his work for the Air Force as an IT Specialist.­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Hadley worked for the Air Force for 37 years, retiring in 2007.

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In 1980, Hadley married Beverly Shaffer, and together, they built a life filled with love and laughter, family and friends, science and music. Hadley was devoted to his nieces and nephews, Ruth Louise and Peter, Sven and Brett, Andrew and Annaliese, Leonard, Kirsten, and Erik, Jennifer and Stephanie, Jeanne, Amy and Michael, Hunter and Zuzu.‍ At a family reunion, Hadley made videos of several of them acting out poems from Shel Silverstein’s “Where The Sidewalk Ends.” He also made an exquisitely detailed train station for a nephew’s Thomas the Tank Engine train set complete with lights and tiny people inside.

Hadley loved helping colleagues, friends, and neighbors with projects, especially those requiring sophisticated solutions to complex and difficult problems. He once built a “fitness treadmill” for a colleague at Gunter who was confined to a wheelchair. Hadley was kind, thoughtful, and creative in his efforts to help people in his life.

When not helping others, Hadley could be found in his workshop developing various electronic and electro-mechanical creations drawn from his imagination. One of these creations, the “Bean Machine,” involved a TV screen, an oscilloscope, and a sound source (music from a CD) resulting in sound waves bouncing around the TV screen in wonderful shapes and colors. Hadley was also an avid photographer and baker of pies. When a friend learned about Hadley’s passing, he said “The world will be a lot less interesting place without him in it. I’ll miss him.”

Hadley and his wife, Beverly, attended the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery where they had many friends and enjoyed participating in Sunday morning services; Thursday night pool parties (the kind involving a table, balls, and cues); and volunteering with the social action committee. The visits by many UUs during Hadley’s extended illness were greatly appreciated.

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Predeceased by his parents and his sister Anita, Hadley is survived by his wife, Beverly Shaffer; his brother, Rodney Bean; two sisters, Leslie Kern and Doris Bean; a step-son, Lucas Johnston; three sisters-in-law, Jeannette Sowman, Madolyn Shaffer, and Malinda Farrington; many nieces and nephews, great nieces and great nephews. His family will feel his absence, as will a wide circle of friends and colleagues.

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The family is grateful for the help and special kindnesses of the Enhabit Hospice staff who helped Hadley through his final transition and for the help and attention of many friends and neighbors. Hadley will be missed by all who knew him and by those who benefitted from his love of helping friends.

A memorial to honor Hadley's life will be held at a date and time to be announced in the near future. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Hadley’s memory to The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Montgomery or to The Capri Community Film Society.‍

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