The Brentwood arts community has lost a longtime supporter, advocate and friend. Ron Beatty, 78, died May 25 following a prolonged battle with cancer.

A Connecticut native, Beatty was the corporate director of security for Rockwell International when he retired in 1997. When he moved to Brentwood in 2000, he became a powerful force for public art, and helped found the Brentwood Arts Commission and the Brentwood Arts Society. And although he called himself a “Sunday afternoon painter,” Beatty’s passion and talent for the visual arts were admired and respected throughout the community. A showing of his work will be held on June 12 at artist Bill Weber’s gallery.

“Ron was a very talented artist,” said his wife, Lilly. “But he was also a writer and storyteller. He was so involved in the Brentwood art community because he was an artist himself and had a desire to share that love with his town.”

For his ongoing work and dedication to the arts, Beatty was recently named the Brentwood Art Society’s 2010 Artist of the Year.

“He was wonderful guy and talented artist,” said friend Jack Gaughan, who sat on the Brentwood Art Society board with Beatty. “He brought a lot to Brentwood.”

But for Brennan Beatty, Ron’s son, the loss of his father means something more. “Dad was fun-loving, education-focused and a hard worker,” said Brennan. “His nickname was Gus, a name we kids gave him. Before he got into painting, he was a big remodeler. Our vacations were spent at home remodeling the house. He got into tiling and first did a coffee table, then a bar area and then he got good enough that my mom let him do the kitchen. Our nickname for him was Gus the Grouter, and it stuck. In later years he would use it as a barometer. If we called said “Hi, Gus,” he knew everything was fine. But if we called and said “Hi, Dad,” he knew something was wrong. My dad was an amazing, awesome guy. I loved him very much.”

Lilly, who married Beatty five years ago, said that while their time together was brief, it was a match made in heaven: “I knew Ron for seven years and we were married for five. They were wonderful years. His enormous energy kept me going and we shared everything. He was a very loving, considerate and generous man; full of life. I was lucky. We were two peas in a pod.”

In addition to Lilly, Beatty leaves behind his children, Brennan, Kevin and Carol; eight grandchildren; three step-children; and seven step-grandchildren. His first wife of 43 years, Velma Jean, died in 2000.

Services for Beatty will be held at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Brentwood on Friday, June 4 at 11:30 a.m. Interment will take place in July in Hamden, Conn. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes contributions to the Brentwood Arts Society.