name: William Beik

nick: Bill

spouse: Millie Allen Beik

address: 229 Seegar Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15241

phone: 412-831-3871

educ: Haverford College BA 1963, Harvard University, MA 1966; PhD 1969.

marital: married in 1975

children: step-sons: Eric Kauffman, died in 2006 at age 42; Carl Kauffman, age 39. 

grandch: none

jobs: Professor of French history, on faculty of Northern Illinois University (1968-90) and Emory University (1990-2007).

memory: Becoming more self-confident and sociable in senior year through friends from Band and Yearbook. Impressed by the energy and intensity of Mr. Falcone who treated us like adults and took politics very seriously. I Remember fondly the response I provoked when I had to stand up and introduce the yearbook at our graduation dinner. I started by saying "I'm not going to say very much," to general laughter.

bio: I enjoyed teaching and researching early modern European history (1400-1789) and eventually published three books on the subject. A fourth is coming out in April, 2009. I married Millie and her two sons in 1975. Her father was a Hungarian immigrant coal miner in Western Pennsylvania where we now live. In 1989 she earned a PHD from Northern Illinois in U.S. labor history and then published a scholarly study of the immmigrant miners and the company in her home town, Windber, PA..  She held temporary university teaching positions in Illinois and Atlanta and later worked as a reference librarian in a community college.  She has devoted her life to studying, explaining, and defending workers, unions, and social justice.

Our happier moments were various trips to France for my research, a tour of Tuscany in 2006 and two wonderful trips to Hungary in quest of her father's peasant heritage. Our sadness has been the suffering of son Eric, who was diagnosed bi-polar as a teenager. He lived a troubled life punctuated by episodes and crises. He died suddenly of heart failure in 2006. His death continues to weigh heavily on us.  We also feel the effects of various medical problems, multiple cancers and radiation for Millie, and Parkinsons for me. The latter causes gradual deterioration of balance and motor skills.  But the disease progresses slowly and medicines help with the symptoms. So far I am holding up well, and I rarely use a cane. 

In 2007 we retired to Pittsburgh where we enjoy contacts with many labor  historians and union activists, and we have been warmly welcomed by many progressive friends. It is a great city. We love the rivers, the hills, and the spirited population. Our lovely house overlooks woods.  We worked for the Obama campaign, and we are overjoyed to see the more optimistic political climate that has resulted.

retire: We are busier than ever in retirement, and enjoying the time to read the papers and avoid nasty weather by not going out.  We go to  many movies and concerts What we have learned about retirement is how much more of one's time gets devoted to medical issues. We are beginning to understand why older people slow down and complain a lot!

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