Mountain Ranch, CA…David Ray Bean (Dave), Mountain Ranch, was born April 18, 1939, in Belle Fourche, SD, to George Burdette and Violet Margareet (Tope) Bean. They were cattle ranchers, and he learned at an early age to ride horses. Theirs was a minimal existence with no running water, no electricity, and certainly no telephone. He attended country schools and boarded in town for high school. He succumbed to a massive heart attack at home Sunday, August 13.

He attended the University of Wyoming, Laramie, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1962. The lure of automobile racing drew him to California soon after, and he spent the next 50+ years participating in the sport at both professional and amateur levels.

While his first love was the Corvette, he was drawn to the handling and light weight of the Lotus cars. The necessity of obtaining parts for the low production Lotus led to his starting his own business importing parts from the UK and re-selling them to Lotus owners in the US. Dave Bean Engineering was founded in1975 and continues today in San Andreas.

He was known worldwide for his expertise and his skill behind the wheel of a race car. He was predeceased by his parents, his sister Betty Ann (Bean) Lovell, and his brother, George Burdette Bean, Jr. He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Roberta, his sister Doris Virginia Paulson (Mel) of Eagle Rock, many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews in scattered areas around the country, and his beloved Black Lab, Jimbo.

Inurnment will be at a later date at Pine Slope Cemetery in Belle Fourche.