If there was a forum on campus, chances are Charles Beachnau was there.
The environment economics senior, who entered MSU after a 20-year Army career, didn’t let his age stop him from being involved with campus life. His friends remember him for the time he spent in his fraternity and in MSU’s undergraduate student government.
Beachnau died of a heart attack late Saturday. He was 43.
“He was as active as he could be,” said Ben Schilling, who was Beachnau’s big brother in Alpha Gamma Rho. “He was very outgoing and liked to meet new people and be around people.”
Beachnau served as captain in the Army, serving in the Gulf War and traveling to Egypt, Kuwait and Korea before he retired.
When he came to MSU, Beachnau already was the age of some professors and had two children, Audrey, now 8, and Tyler, 9. But friends say he still was as active as most other undergraduates. He was 41 when he joined Alpha Gamma Rho.
“When he joined the fraternity he asked me, ‘Should I go?’” his girlfriend Marjorie Mesa said. “Twenty years ago he didn’t have an opportunity like that.
“He was a good dad and a good scholar.”
Despite being older then most greeks, fraternity members say Beachnau still brought vigor to the house.
“He always had energy,” English senior and fellow fraternity member Mike Bowman said. “He was always doing something.”
Beachnau served for a year as a College of Agriculture and Natural Resource representative to ASMSU’s Student Assembly. He became the undergraduate student government’s association director this year.
“He was very dedicated,” Student Assembly Chairperson Matt Weingarden said. “In the past two months he brought about so much change and efficiency while trying to bring a budget that stuck to the numbers.”
Beachnau also was involved in the Liberty Hyde Bailey Scholars Program in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
“He was a very good student,” agricultural economics Professor Lynn Harvey said. “He was very energetic and looking forward to graduation.”
Harvey served as Beachnau’s mentor in the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program.
Beachnau was in the process of preparing for the LSAT and contemplating his law career, Harvey said.
“He was very interested in economics and resource management,” he said. “He was torn between law school and his master’s degree.”
In March, Beachnau received a study abroad scholarship. He had recently returned from China, where he traveled with the Economic Development and Environmental Management program.
“Because he was an adult student he was very active in the learning process,” academic adviser Christine Stiles said. “He was very excited about coming back to school.”
It was that love of knowledge his friends also remember him for. “He was just one of those people who was excited about learning,” Stiles said.
“He was a good student,” Schilling said. “He liked to get involved in classes and talk to teachers.”
Beachnau is survived by his two children, parents William Beachnau and Wanda Huff, his girlfriend Mesa, two brothers and four sisters. Funeral services will be Wednesday in the Maple Valley Chapel, 204 N. Queen St. in Nashville.
Staff writer Shaun Byron contributed to this report.
Brandon Bennett can be reached at benne218@msu.edu.
