A legacy of love for the land

When longtime Newark, Del., resident Henry E. “Shorty” Bearman died in November 2003, he left no living relatives. What he did leave was a wide circle of friends who considered him family, a legacy of volunteerism and a consuming passion for the out-of-doors.

A bachelor all his life, Mr. Bearman involved himself with the people in the city around him. His friends remember him as the kind of person Ralph Waldo Emerson described when he wrote, “The only true gift is a portion of thyself.”

“Henry had a knack for touching people’s lives,” Steve Hastings, professor of food and resource economics, says. “Henry never met a stranger, and he always gave his time and talents without expecting anything in return.”

For this reason, Hastings and his wife, Jeanne Walter-Hastings, have established a scholarship fund in Mr. Bearman’s memory in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Two undergraduates each year will receive scholarships based on several criteria, including a major in natural resources management, academic excellence, a respect for wilderness and wildlife and a desire to protect open spaces.

“Henry was the consummate outdoorsman with great respect for nature and the environment,” Hastings says. “He was a hunter, a fisherman and a trapshooting aficionado. More than that, he generously shared his infinite knowledge with anyone new to the sport.”

When Hastings moved to Newark in 1978 to join the University faculty, he met Mr. Bearman. The young professor and the machinist became fast friends, a cherished relationship that spanned more than 25 years.

An Army machinist during World War II, Mr. Bearman saw action in both Europe and the South Pacific and then worked as a tool-and-die maker for the DaimlerChrysler Corp. for 29 years. But, it was his life outside his career that defined him, according to his friends.

Hastings says Mr. Bearman would like being remembered in a way that reflects his reverence for nature and his love of outdoor sports. To be eligible, Bearman Scholarship recipients must share his love for the land and show commitment to the sound management of wildlife.

“Henry was a steward of the land,” Hastings says. “He would be happy to know that because of him, open spaces and woodlands will be preserved and used by future generations.”

The 2004-05 Bearman Scholarship recipients are natural resources management majors Matthew C. Loiacono and Maia L. Tatinclaux, both AG ’06. Loiacono, of Easton, Pa., hopes to attend graduate school and eventually to work as an environmental consultant or for the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Tatinclaux, of Hanover, N.H., hopes to join the Peace Corps after graduation and later attend graduate school and work in the environmental field.

Those whose lives Henry Bearman touched can honor his memory and legacy with a gift to the Henry Bearman Scholarship by sending a check to the University of Delaware Henry E. Bearman Scholarship, c/o Joe Bradley, 113 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19716-2103.

—Susan Morse Baldwin, AS ’95M