William Beale (1918 - 2015)

Born 18 Jul 1918 in Jacksonville, Florida, United States

Biography

Obituary

William R. Beale of Clarkston passed away Monday, March 16, 2015.

Bill was born July 18, 1918, in Jacksonville, Fla., to Ethel and Albert Laasch. His mother died when he was 5 years old. At age 6, he and his brother Leonard, age 7, traveled alone by train from Florida to Idaho, their names and destination on name tags attached to their sailor suits. Their cousin, Mabel, and her husband, Jessie Beale, adopted them in 1924. The Beales farmed at Tom Beall near Lapwai. Bill attended school at Tom Beall, Lapwai and Clarkston, graduating in 1936.

He married Jenny Harri on June 21, 1947. They had two children, Bill and Jenny (Dee). Bill worked at Potlatch Forests Inc. for 30 years. He and Jenny also had an orchard on South 13th Street in Clarkston until 1970. They spent 42 happy years together until Jenny passed away in 1989.

Bill married Mabel Currin on April 8, 1995. They made their home in Clarkston. They enjoyed 13 years together. Until his passing, Bill resided at Evergreen Estates in Clarkston.

Bill enjoyed church activities at Blessed Hope Assembly of God in the Lewiston Orchards. He was a member since 1938. He was also a member of the Clarkston Heights Grange for 78 years, serving as master of the Grange for several years.

Clarkston Heights children of the 1950s will remember Bill as the superintendent of the American Sunday School Union, which met at the grange hall.

Over the years, Bill always enjoyed singing for others. He sang at church services and on the church's radio program, at the grange, at weddings, at funerals and for residents of nursing homes and retirement centers. He was an active volunteer, driving for Interlink, organizing the Banana Belt Senior Program and as president of Sons of Norway (although he was not Norwegian).

He is survived by his daughter, Jenny (Dee) Kohrdt of Clarkston; his son, Bill (Tom Cunningham) of Federal Way, Wash.; granddaughter Cindy Hodges (Ervin) of Oroville, Calif.; and nieces and nephews including Rita and Art Lovell of Clark, Wyo., Bill and Teri White of Culdesac, Michael and Chris Beale and Janice Beale.

Graveside services will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday at Vineland Cemetery in Clarkston, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. at Blessed Hope Assembly of God, 1033 Burrell Ave., Lewiston. The ladies of the church will serve a luncheon following the service.

Sign the online guest book at www.merchantfuneralhome.com. ^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ http://lmtribune.com/obituaries/bill-beale-of-clarkston/article_b23703c6-20c9-5da8-b508-b0be16bf36ae.html