Oct. 11, 2004--Warren A. Beh Jr., 72, died Aug. 28, at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Greenville, on the playground he designed and constructed for the Madame Layton School.

Mr. Beh earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UD in 1955 and was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He was an avid Blue Hen football supporter and held season tickets for more than 40 years.

Born in New York City in 1932, he lived in Northport, Long Island, until 1938, when his family moved to Wilmington. He attended Alexis I. du Pont through middle school and graduated from Tower Hill School in 1950.

From his college years through 1959, he was a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve, serving on active duty in the hospital corps at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, from 1955-57.

Mr. Beh's 47-year career in the life insurance industry involved more than 20 years with companies such as Sun Life of Canada, North American Life Assurance and Great West Life. Since 1995, he had represented several companies on a brokerage basis and earned leadership rankings with them in sales.

Early in his career, he attained the CLU, chartered life underwriter, designation and qualified for the Million-Dollar Round Table. He later attained the CFP, certified financial planner, designation.

Active in the industry, Mr. Beh became a member of the New Castle County Life Underwriters Association, was its treasurer for many years and was a recipient of its Charles B. Palmer Award. He was a past president and board member of the Delaware chapter of the American Society of Chartered Life Underwriters and the Estate Planning Council of Delaware.

Over the years, Mr. Beh was an active board member of Delaware Child Guidance, St. Michael's Day Nursery and the Visiting Nurses Association. For more than 25 years, he served as a board member, treasurer and vice president of the Wilmington Senior Center.

A member of Christ Church Christiana Hundred, he served as head of the Servers Guild and member of the vestry. He also was treasurer of the Delmarva Ecumenical Agency and president of the Church Club of Delaware (Episcopal).

As a member of the Republican Party, Mr. Beh was active in the early campaigns of the late U.S. Sen. William. V. Roth Jr. He was a member of Sen. Roth's Service Academy Review Board. More recently, he served in the same capacity for U.S. Rep. Michael Castle and was active in several campaigns for insurance commissioner.

He was a founding member of the Greenville Country Club.

As a teenager, Mr. Beh attended Keewaydin Camp Ltd. on Lake Temagami, Ontario, and began a lifelong love of wilderness canoeing. He later led scout groups and friends from various parts of the country on trips to the Temagami area, the Northwest Territories and North West Alaska.

Mr. Beh is survived by his wife of 49 years, Christine (Chrissie) Brosius Beh. When he was 8, they met and became instant friends, dating through high school and college and marrying in June 1955. Mr. Beh also leaves daughter Christine B. Austen, of West Palm Beach, Fla., her husband, Howard and grandsons, Patrick and Chase; daughter Ann B. Wagner, of Raleigh, N.C., and her husband, Scott; and sister, Anne B. Silbernagel of West Palm Beach, Fla., and her husband, Thomas, and a niece and four nephews.

Memorial contributions may be sent to The Roy Waters Scholarship Fund, Keewaydin Foundation, 10 Keewaydin Rd, Salisbury, VT 05769.