Earl Frank BEAMAN

BEAMAN, LOVE, WAYMIRE, HURST, MCCLURE, HANNON, STONE, WILLIAMS, FORNWALT, DIETERICH, MORR, MITCHELL

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 11/21/2007 at 21:40:52

Herald & Review, Decatur, IL
November 11, 2007

DECATUR, IL - E. (Earl) Frank Beaman, 102, died at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 8, in Decatur. Services will be at 11 a.m. at Central Christian Church on Tuesday, November 13, with visitation beginning one hour before the service and private interment services at Star of Hope Mausoleum at Graceland Cemetery immediately afterward. Graceland/Fairlawn Funeral Home is assisting the family with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to Central Christian Church or a memorial of the donor's choice.

Mr. Beaman was born in Galt, Iowa, on June 22, 1905, the seventh of fourteen children of Samuel and Emma (Love) Beaman. In 1908, the family returned to the Decatur area, where they farmed near Findlay and later ran a general store in Sangamon. As a child, Mr. Beaman attended a one-room schoolhouse in Sangamon and worked in Decatur as a delivery boy for grocer Gideon Isaac Covalt and as a lead anodizer at Decatur Malleable Iron Company. As a young man, he worked in the meat packing houses of St. Louis, was a streetcar conductor in Chicago, and opened a dry-cleaning business in Hammond, Indiana, in 1930. He became a General Manager of Beech Grove Transit Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, owned a service station in Hammond, and during World War II worked for North American Aviation in Los Angeles, California. In 1946, Mr. Beaman returned to Decatur where he has lived ever since. He was given 15 taxi permits by the city of Decatur and established the Yellow Cab Company, which he ran from 1946 to 1959, expanding it into a fleet of 35 taxis serving Decatur and earning him the American Taxicab Association's "Operator of the Year" award in 1958, a selection made from a field of more than 15,000 companies. In 1961, he bought the North Jasper Homes Project from the federal government, developing it into the Jasper Mobile Home Park, which he owned and managed for 20 years. During this period, he also bought and renovated commercial properties in Decatur, including buildings in the 200 block of West Main, a row of stores on Merchant Street, and the St. James Hotel at the northwest corner of West Wood and South Main, which was razed to build the Ambassador Motor Inn, currently the Macon County Office Building.

Mr. Beaman married Elma A. Waymire of Kokomo, Indiana, on December 6, 1930. Three children were born to them: Frank D. Beaman of Mineral Point, Wisconsin, married to Sandee Francis Beaman; Judy Beaman of Decatur, and Kathryn Lynn Beaman, married to Steven R. Hurst. His grandchildren are Lynn Beaman McClure, Jane Beaman Hannon (David), Liz Beaman Stone (Charles), Kate Beaman Williams (Ben); Diana Dieterich Fornwalt (Richard, who died in 1993); Debbie Dieterich, David Dieterich, Sally Hurst, Anne Hurst, Ellen Hurst, and Darcy Francis Morr (David). He leaves great-grandchildren Becca McClure, Drew McClure, Eliza Hannon, Molly Hannon, Emmett Stone, Maggie Stone, Mac Stone, John Fornwalt, and Tessa Morr. He was preceded in death by his wife, his parents, eleven of his brothers and sisters, daughter-in-law Margaret Day Beaman, and great-granddaughter Leslie Fornwalt. He leaves a sister, Evelyn Mitchell of Orlando, Florida, brother Samuel Wayne Beaman of Houston, Texas, and many nieces and nephews.

In 1946, Mr. Beaman became a proud member of Central Christian Church, serving on the Building Committee for the present church, which was dedicated in 1955, and enjoyed a 20-year membership at South Side Country Club. During his business career, he was a member of the Decatur Chamber of Commerce, and the Lions, Rotary, and Kiwanis clubs. Over the years, he developed an avid interest in preserving the residential architecture of Decatur and renovated numerous houses, several of historic note. For this work, the Historical and Architectural Sites Commission presented him with Historic Preservation Awards in 1993 and 1996, and also in 1996, the Arthur Ploeger Award for his "life-long work and dedication in preserving the historical and architectural heritage of the community." He was a loyal Chicago Cubs fan, first attending games in 1922, and fondly reminisced about seeing many of the sport's legends, including Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, play at Wrigley Field. In the 1970s, he and his wife traveled extensively throughout Europe and the Middle East, one of the greatest pleasures of his life. He loved music and reading. From 2002 through 2005, he lived at Keystone Gardens Retirement Community in Decatur and treasured the new friends he made among the residents and staff. He frequently remarked to them, and truly believed, that his had been a wonderful life. Obituary written by family members.