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Edgar Sheppard Gilchrist March 7, 1919 - September 15, 2013

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Edgar (Beanie) Gilchrist died peacefully at his home on Lido Isle, on Sunday September 15, one day after his 67th wedding anniversary, at the age of 94. His wife Pat and other family were at his side.

Beanie was born in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania, in 1919. He attended Harvard University, and after that, took coursework in Radar technology at MIT. He then joined the Navy, and served in World War II, on the aircraft carrier U.S.S Franklin. After the war, Beanie began his civilian career as an electronics engineer. In 1964, he helped form a firm that was eventually acquired, prompting the family move to Southern California in 1967. They moved to Lido Isle in 1968.

In 1971, Beanie transitioned from engineering to photography, a lifelong passion. He specialized in photographing sailboat racing, from Sabots to ocean racers, and became a familiar figure darting in his motorboat around Newport Bay and out beyond Balboa Pier, always angling for the perfect shot. Some of his photos were published as covers of Sail Magazine, and other publications.

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Having rowed on the lightweight crew at Harvard, it was natural for Beanie to add racing shells to his list of photographing specialties. He forged close bonds with the squads at Orange Coast College, over a period of several years, and loved to capture tight dramatic shots.

Beanie was an early adopter of computers, beginning with the Apple II.He threw himself into the computer revolution with zest, picking up skills in the Pascal programming language so he could craft a special mailing label program for the Newport Harbor Actors Theater. It was especially fun for him since his beloved Pat held roles in several productions. As the Internet era dawned, Beanie taught himself about web logging, and created a blog for sharing photos with family and friends. He maintained the blog well into his 80’s.

Towards the end of his life, Beanie enjoyed taking his “scooter” down to Genoa beach, on Lido, to watch the sailboats and rowing shells, with Pat at his side. He leaves behind Pat, their 5 children, and 10 grandchildren.

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