HIGHLIGHTS ADVANCED MATERIALS & PROCESSES | MAY 2026 54 IN MEMORIAM IN MEMORIAM Iain Le May, FASM, of Calgary, Canada, died peacefully on March 24. Le May served as the president of the International Metallographic Society, 1991-1993, and IMS director 19711975 and 1985-1995. He also was named the 2005 Henry Clifton Sorby lecturer. Born in Helensburgh, Scotland, Le May was educated at Glasgow Academy, the Royal College of Science and Technology, and Glasgow University. His academic career included professorships at the University of Glasgow and the University of Saskatchewan. During his time at Saskatchewan, he established an active group with his graduate students, dealing with a variety of topics relating to the relationships between microstructure and mechanical behavior, publishing extensively in these areas. In 1978, Le May established his consulting company, Metallurgical Consulting Services Ltd. He also started MCS Associates Inc. in Pittsburgh in 1990. Le May was an internationally known expert on metallographic techniques and failure analysis procedures. He served as a member of the editorial advisory board of Metallography (now Materials Characterization). He also held leadership roles with the organizing committees for a number of IMS Conventions, including as technical program chair, Montreal, 1978; general chair, Denver, 1985; and general co-chair, Montreal, 1994. Larry Eugene McKnight, FASM, age 88, born in Ansley, Nebraska, on April 6, 1937, passed away in Fullerton, California, on December 9, 2025. He attended elementary and high schools in Vancouver, Washington, prior to attending college in Seattle. In 1960, he earned a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Washington (UW). Upon graduation, he moved to Cincinnati, Chicago, and finally to Southern California working for Boeing, Eagle Picture Corp., and Testing Engineers. He became an independent engineer in 1975 specializing in failure analysis with an extensive client list that included CALTRANS, Toyota Racing Development, SCE, Boeing, NASA, and numerous law firms. McKnight passed on his knowledge by teaching classes at many colleges including Chapman College, Cal Poly Pomona, Long Beach State, and as a guest lecturer for professional organizations. He was a member of the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society; was instrumental in acquiring a 1959-1960 Boeing patent for “Electrolytic Deburring of Metals;” was a founding member of the Independent Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Consultants of California in 1979; and received a Distinguished Alumni Service Award from UW in 2011. Donald A. Lewon, of Salt Lake City, passed away on March 5. He was born on August 23, 1936, in Lewiston, Montana, and attended Wasatch Academy followed by the University of Utah, where he received a degree in mining and metallurgy as well as geography in 1958. After serving in the Air Force Reserve, he worked with his father in Salt Lake City at Utah Metal Works Inc., the family metal recycling business. Lewon became the company’s CEO and continued to work there until a few weeks before he passed, proud of his contributions to the recycling side of manufacturing. During his career, Lewon was an active member of several industry trade associations including the National Association of Recycling Industries and the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. Lewon remained active with his alma maters, serving on the board of trustees for the Wasatch Academy, and as a founding member and later chair of the College of Social and Behavioral Science Advisory Board for the University of Utah. Lewon was an avid supporter of the ASM Materials Education Foundation and its programs. McKnight Le May Lewon Word has been received at ASM Headquarters of the death of Edward C. Beyer, of Jacksonville, Florida. He passed away on July 24, 2025, at age 89. Beyer was born in Cincinnati on March 3, 1936. He had a remarkable career as an engineer with both NASA and Ford Motor Company.
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