FAYETTEVILLE - Mr. Frederick Louis Beyer, Jr., 76, of Fayetteville, NC, passed away at NC Memorial Hospital - Chapel Hill, Tuesday, May 23, 2017.

Fred was born in Durham, NC, in 1940, to the late Frederick Louis and Ruby Smith Beyer. He grew up spending his afternoons at McPherson Hospital, where his mother was Director of Nursing. He attended Oak Ridge Military Institute, where he advanced through the non-commission grades and ultimately served as a Cadet Second Lieutenant. As a Boy Scout, he achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. Upon graduation in 1959, he attended North Carolina State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Education in 1964. He further earned his Master of Education in Science Education Field Work from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1968. In 1991, he earned a Sixth Year Science Specialist Certificate, also at NCSU. After graduation, he began his career teaching science in Danville, Virginia, at George Washington High School, and later in Greensboro, North Carolina, at Kiser Junior High School. However, Fred was first and foremost a geologist and in 1970, he became the Instructional Television Curriculum Specialist in Earth Science with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. He is best known for the television series "What on Earth?", which has been used by science educators for decades; the series explained North Carolina geologic history and other geology concepts to thousands of students and teachers across the state. In 1979, he began work as the Science Supervisor for the Cumberland County Schools, where he worked until his retirement in 1998. In the early 1980s, he instituted a novel curriculum of hands-on, inquiry-based learning. He established a highly respected field program in marine studies for Cumberland County, and is remembered for developing and leading annual field trips to the North Carolina coast for entire grade levels, educating students about the coastal geology and ecology of North Carolina. He continued his science outreach efforts in the 1980s as well. In Fayetteville, he hosted a radio segment about science that was broadcast on WFNC. He assisted with science fairs, Science Olympiad, the North Carolina Academy of Science, the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, the North Carolina Science Leadership Association, and was an active member of the National Science Teachers Association. He was a founding member of the North Carolina Science Teachers' Association. In the field of geology, he was also a respected leader. Others in education and geologists in industry turned to him for guidance in Earth Science curriculum and for ways to best teach concepts. In cooperation with the National Association of Geology Teachers, he volunteered and led field trips of all kinds, including trips to the mountains, Piedmont, and coastal plain of North Carolina. He also authored and illustrated a book on North Carolina geology, North Carolina: The Years Before Man, which was published in 1991. The book was written for high school students and university undergraduates, but could be read and understood anyone. Near the end of his career, in 1994, he received the Vi Hunsucker Award from the NCSTA for his efforts as a science educator serving the students and teachers of North Carolina. In 1997, he received the NCSLA Gatling Award for outstanding science education leadership. After retiring, he continued to promote science education, working with teachers through Fisher Scientific to facilitate equipping classrooms with the equipment needed to provide the level of education he believed everyone deserved. He assisted schools and districts with classroom and laboratory design as well. Most recently, he organized and operated a popular Earth Science listserv, with weekly updates upon which many teachers depended. In 2010, his lifelong efforts were recognized by the NCSLA when he received the Distinguished Service Award. While Fred will be remembered as a man with consuming enthusiasm for science, he also loved his family and enjoyed many other hobbies in his spare time. He loved singing at home and at church, music in general and especially pipe organs, weekend sailing with his family, woodworking, rose gardening, attending his grandchildren's sporting events and musical performances, and taking care of the family dogs. Fred was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary Peacock Beyer. He is survived by his wife of 11 years, Janet Brown Beyer; his son, Rick (Kristi Kiick), of Rising Sun, MD; his daughter, Julie Harrison (Steve), of Clinton, NC; his step-son, Ruffin Hall (Cyndi), of Raleigh, NC; his step-son, Andrew Hall (Sharon), of Newport, NC; and eight grandchildren, Samuel, Sarah, Yegor, Kostya, Abigail, Margaret, Thomas, and Haley. Visitation will be held Friday, May 26 from 5-7 p.m. at Jernigan-Warren Funeral Home in Fayetteville, NC. A memorial service celebrating his life will be held Saturday, May 27 at St. John's Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, NC. Special music will precede the service, beginning at 10:45 a.m. Donations may be made to St. John's Episcopal Church, 302 Green Street, Fayetteville, NC 28301, or to Haymount United Methodist Church, 1700 Bragg Boulevard, Fayetteville, NC 28303.