By Cathleen F. Crowley
Times Union
ALBABY, N.Y. — When a minivan struck Richard Beebe‘s motorcycle last month on Washington Avenue, it is not entirely coincidental that the nurse and paramedic in the car behind him and the paramedics who arrived seconds later had been trained by him.
It is a testament to Beebe’s career as an educator.
Beebe, 58, a Guilderland paramedic and nationally known emergency medicine instructor, died Sunday from complications of the injuries he suffered in the accident.
“He was a dynamic individual,” said Drew Chesney, a paramedic with the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad who was a student of Beebe’s at SUNY Cobleskill. “He had a unique teaching style that was captivating.”
Beebe loved teaching his craft to any level of student.
“He had a way of making you think about what he was presenting,” Chesney said.
Beebe had just finished teaching a training session for nurses and paramedics in downtown Albany and was driving home when a minivan pulled in front of him May 26. A car with some of his students happened to be behind him when the crash occurred, and the first rescuers on the scene had been in classes taught by Beebe.
Beebe was one of the first paramedics hired by Guilderland in 1988. He was also a registered nurse and had a master’s degree in education. Beebe was associate director of education for Mohawk Ambulance, an instructor for Vermont Technical College’s paramedic program and owned a consulting firm called Medic Think. He served on the boards of several national EMS education organizations and was a prolific author of textbooks on the fundamentals of emergency care.
Previously, Beebe worked as an emergency nurse at St. Peter’s Hospital, served as paramedic program director at Bassett Healthcare and taught at many colleges in the Capital Region, including Albany Medical College.
Beebe was a lifetime member of the Western Turnpike Rescue Squad and still worked part-time as a Guilderland paramedic honing his “street” skills. When his twin daughters were born 29 years ago, he organized a baby-sitting system with other Western Turnpike volunteers so they could respond to ambulance calls while their children stayed at the station with another volunteer.
“He took his work way, way beyond just a job,” his daughter Amanda Beebe McLean said.
Beebe, who worked his last shift as a Guilderland paramedic on May 14, leaves a void that can never be filled, said Jay Tyler, senior paramedic supervisor for Guilderland.
“Rich Beebe has saved a lot of lives in the town of Guilderland,” Tyler said.
Beebe was the husband of Laura Beebe and the father of Heather Beebe and Amanda Beebe McLean. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 1 p.m. at DeMarco-Stone Funeral Home, 5216 Western Turnpike, Guilderland, with a reception to follow.
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©2016 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)