Alan Mark "Al" Bieber
Marriages
Natalie Price Bieber
Married 69 years
Obituaries
Steamboat Today - February 4, 2017
ALAN MARK BIEBER
1926 - 2017
Alan (Al) Bieber passed peacefully in his sleep on January 14, 2017, just shy of his 91st birthday. Born in New York City, he never considered himself a New Yorker, but preferred the likes of Lyme, CT and Steamboat Springs, CO. From an early age he had a love for hunting, shooting, the ocean, and the outdoors.
Al also had a brilliant mind, and had the distinction of being the top scholar in Westchester County, New York when he graduated high school. Al had a deep love of country, and during World War II, he enlisted in the Navy at age 17. Upon his enlistment, the Navy sent him to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for an accelerated officer-training program. He left MIT after his first year to serve on the U.S.S. Southerland in the Pacific, and was aboard the Southerland when she was the first U.S. Navy man-of-war to enter Tokyo Bay marking the end of World War II. After the war, Al stayed in the Naval reserves and enrolled in the Petroleum Engineering Program at Oklahoma A&M University. Al was called back to active duty for the Korean War, and served as a gunnery instructor at the Newport, Rhode Island Naval Base. After the Korean War, Al received his officer’s commission in the Navy to take the rank of Lieutenant J.G. Al and family moved to Denver, Colorado in 1951 where he worked as a Petroleum Geologist and Engineer. Al also joined a Naval Intelligence reserve unit in Denver, and remained a member of that unit until 1968 when he moved his family to Maryland. Al always had an interest in ocean engineering and became a correspondent with Ed Link, inventor of the Link aircraft simulator and later the Johnson Sea link Submersible. In 1967, Al became a consultant for Ed’s firm, Ocean Systems, Inc. performing geological, geotechnical, and oceanographic studies for the fledgling offshore oil industry. In 1968, he joined Ocean Systems as the General Manager for Surveys and moved his family to Potomac, Maryland. He continued in the Naval Reserves in Maryland for another three years before retiring as a Lieutenant Commander after 27 years of combined active and reserve service, first as an enlisted man and then as an officer. Al never lost his love for Lyme and the Connecticut shore, and in 1973 he moved his family there to continue his work in underwater survey and later to start his own company, Bieber Engineering. Al received several patents for marine technology until his semiretirement in 1990, when he and his wife, Natalie, moved to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Al stayed professionally active even in “retirement” where he performed geophysical consulting and became active in Necrosearch International, a nonprofit that performs forensic investigations for law enforcement agencies throughout the United
States. During his career, Al worked in or visited some 35 countries and worked on every continent except Antarctica. He had a great facility for languages, becoming near fluent in Spanish while living and working in Panama, becoming conversant in Urdu while working in Pakistan, Arabic while working in Egypt, and Norwegian while working in that nation. Al met his wife, Natalie in 1943. They courted by mail during the war, and Al’s proposal to Natalie reflected his poetic side? using the Robert Burns poem “A Red, Red Rose.” Al and Natalie were just shy of celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary. Al is survived by his wife, Natalie Price Bieber? his sister, Joan Bieber Carroll? his son Alan Bieber, Jr. (Nancy Schanfield) of Centennial, Colorado? daughter Leslie Bieber Lewis (Ralph Lewis) of Lyme, Connecticut? daughter Gail Bieber of Denver, Colorado? son David Bieber (Suz
Walker) of Parker, Colorado? eight grandchildren? and seven great-grandchildren. He will be remembered for his humor, intellect, ever-present smile, openness toward all people, love of country, love of family and the best machine shop. His was a life well lived. Memorial services will be held in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and Lyme, Connecticut this summer. In lieu of flowers, those wishing to make donations honoring Al can send them to Necrosearch International, P.O. Box 1409, Arvada, CO 80001-1409? or to the Planned Parenthood affiliate of their choice.
