Edgar Ross Beavers, 78, passed away on April 6, 2014 in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. Ross was born on February 3, 1936 in Blanco, Texas, the youngest of nine children. After high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy as a Machinist Mate and served as a Boiler Tender aboard the USS Boxer, where he witnessed over 30 atomic tests in the South Pacific as part of Operation Hardtack in 1958. After his military service, he married Delia Jorgenson and settled in Norwalk, California and then San Antonio, Texas before moving back to Norwalk again. He became a journeyman carpenter and then worked as a project manager for Mustang Engineering, an engineering company. In 1976, he married Marian Kinzie Waters of Rutherfordton. Ross and Marian lived for some time in Rutherfordton where he had started his own insulation business. They moved to Holtville, California, where he worked in several mechanical engineering roles pioneering the use of geothermal energy until he retired. Following their retirements, they returned to Spindale, North Carolina and their home on Pleasant Street. Ross was a man of many talents and interests… he was handy with wood and steel, able to create things with his hands. He was an avid sportsman, fishing the waters from Baja Mexico to the Gulf of Alaska, and hunting the woodlands of Texas and the deserts of Southern California. Ross was talented in the kitchen and on the barbeque grill he was considered “a maestro of meat”. He was a master storyteller and relished a good joke. And Ross was a man who could and did build friendships with all he came into contact with. Ross is survived by his wife Marian; children Kevin, Andrew, Kelli, and Krista; sister Joyce Schneider of San Antonio, Texas; and grandchildren Alexander, Justin, Ryan, Mallory, David, Mark, Christopher, Kristy, and AJ; and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held 3 PM Saturday at St Francis Episcopal Church with the Rev. Christine BeeBee officiating. The family will receive friends from 2-3 PM prior to the service. Military honors will be provided by the Rutherford County Honor Guard.