Maleen Beatty

Maleen Beatty, 85, passed away on May 21, 2016. A proud mother and grandmother, Maleen has taken great joy in her family and their pursuits in the mid-Hudson Valley and beyond. She was a long-time resident of Poughkeepsie, NY, where she and her husband raised their three sons. Since 2010, she lived in New Paltz, at the Woodland Pond retirement community.



Born in 1931 in Rendsburg, Germany, Maleen was raised in Berlin and Goslar. The eldest of eight children, she studied medical technology and earned state certification, going on to work in research at leading hospitals and university labs. Her career ultimately brought her to the United States, where she worked at the University of California at Davis.



En route to the U.S. aboard a steam ship, Maleen met James C. Beatty, an American scholar and later a senior programmer for IBM. With many common interests (including music, literature, science and nature) they married in 1961. They raised their three sons, in both New York and California. Maleen proudly became an American citizen in 1968.



Maleen enjoyed classical music, literature, poetry, science, photography, visual and performing arts. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Vassar College, among other advanced degrees in both Germany and the United States. She was an active member of Toastmasters International, and patron of the arts including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic. With both family and friends, Maleen has enjoyed traveling, hiking, swimming and the great outdoors, from the High Sierras to the Adirondack Mountains, to Europe, Russia, and the Caribbean.



Maleen is survived by her three sons, Norbert Beatty of New York, Eckhart Beatty of San Francisco, and Reinhard Beatty of Blackburg (Virginia); her three granddaughters, Megan, Emily and Julia Beatty, as well as six surviving siblings in Europe: Heinke, Gretje, Frauke, Volkhart, Odfried, and Hartmut.


Private arrangements by Keyser Funeral & Cremation Service, Kingston, NY. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions to the Innisfree Garden (a nature preserve in Millbrook, NY) or Vassar College (The Vassar Fund).