Dr. Carl R. Beidleman

Dr. Carl Beidleman lived an accomplished life. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend.
Dr. Beidleman peacefully passed away on September 13th, 2022 at Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania.

Carl and his wife Ingeborg enjoyed 67 years of marriage.  Carl was industrious and believed deeply in the value of education, guiding principals and the stewardship of nature’s bounty.

On December 19th, 1932- Carl Robert Beidleman was born at home in Plains, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Clark Albert & Gertrude Anna (Wehner) Beidleman.

The Wilkes-Barre native graduated from Lafayette College where he received a BS in Metallurgical Engineering in 1954. He began his career at General Electric, working on a nuclear submarine project.

That year, Carl was introduced to a beautiful young Registered Nurse, Inge Becker. They married in 1955 and raised three children-Mark, Susan & David.  The family was active in the Lutheran church community and enjoyed countless camping trips, exploring, playing cards, board games and singing at campfires.
The cultural experiences of the National Parks and traveling through Europe to meet extended family have endured.

In 1961 Carl returned to academics and earned an MBA from Drexel and a PhD in Finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He hold honors from Tau Beta Pi, Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Delta Epsilon.

Dr. Beidleman joined the faculty of Lehigh University in 1967 where he thrived with tenure and sabbaticals for 30 years. He was the DuBois distinguished Professor of finance, was named the first Chairman of the newly formed Department of Finance and gave lectures at many universities internationally.

Professor Beidleman was a prolific writer, with articles in numerous journals, including Sloan Management Review, Columbia Journal of Business and Bloomberg Magazine.  He also published the inaugural book on “Financial Swaps”, which lead to 3 volumes-“The Handbook of International Investing”, “Interest-Rate Swaps” and “Cross Currency Swaps.”  Carl later became involved in the economics of large structural systems and investigated the life cycle cost of bridges and the use of project finance to underwrite large infrastructural projects.

Dr. Beidleman had an active consultancy. He was a board member of CoreStates Bank and it’s predecessors, Independence Bancorp and Bucks County Bank and Trust Co.  Carl greatly enjoyed over 30 years of board membership with the C.F. Martin Guitar Corporation.

Commitment to community service was important to Carl. He was president of the PTL for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church School in Ambler, PA; board member of Christ Lutheran Church in Hellertown, where he taught bible study; member of the Bethlehem Rotary Club & the Masonic Lodge of Moscow, PA; the board of the WDIY, the Lehigh Valley's NPR station; the Bethlehem Girls Club and the Fairview Lake Association in Tafton PA.  In retirement Carl remained active in stewardship as a board member of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy.

Carl and Inge designed, built and landscaped 2 homes together. Their esthetic evolved through their travels. The First was their family home in Saucon Valley, where they lived for 30 years. The Second was their retirement dream on Fairview Lake in the Poconos where their family continues to enjoy campfires in the woods.

Carl will be remembered for his industrious demeanor, inquisitive mind, love of big band music, playing bridge, nature & numbers and true commitment to his family.

Surviving in addition to his wife, are three children: Mark C. Beidleman and his wife Debbie, of Dallas, Texas; Susan A. Pearson of Bermuda and David C. Beidleman and his wife Renie, of Lititz, PA; Five grandchildren Megan, Shelley, Erik, Nicole and Alexander and a great granddaughter, Maelys. Carl was predeceased by his brother, Dr. James C. Beidleman.

Service and interment will take place at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Carl’s memory may be made to the Masonic Village Bleiler Caring Cottage, 179 Eden View Rd, Elizabethtown, PA 17022

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