John R. Beale

John was born in Gary, IN, grew up in La Salle, IL, and Edina, MN, where he graduated from high school in 1963, received a BA in history from the University of MN in 1967, then served in Vietnam as a US Army Personnel Specialist from November 1967 to September 1969. After being discharged from the military, he began a 45-year professional career with the federal government in the Department of Health and Human Services as an accountability manager for Medicare. After retiring, he spent his days running and hiking in beautiful area parks, going to movies, eating at favorite local restaurants, and often having substantive conversations with friends in the St. Joseph Creek Condominium Association. His good friends in Lisle include Tony and Julie, Joe, Kevin, Judy, Margaret, Jamie and Chuck, John B and Sue.

John loved running; he was a member of the University of Minnesota cross country team in the mid-sixties; during his junior and senior years the team won national trophies. John also participated in the Chicago Marathon. He supported the IL Nature Conservancy. John loved snakes – especially boa constrictors, movies, Elvis, eating two meals a day in restaurants, all details related to the Civil War and reenactments playing both Union and Confederate soldiers; John was an active member of the Chicago Area Civil War Round Table for many years.

Spending quality time at the beloved Beale cottage in Rockport, MA, especially vacations and reunions with his “Beale Battalion” aunts, uncles, and cousins, was one of John’s passions; family history was another. He loved Thanksgiving celebrations with the extended Arnold family (“the best day and meal of the year”); most of all, his three nephews and their families; he appreciated everything his sister and only sibling did for him during the nine months before his death.

John never married and never had children of his own. He is survived by his sister, Barbara Beale Arnold, and nephews Erick John Arnold (and Shannon Swanstrom), Gary Martin Arnold (and his wife Katie), Stephen Huntington Arnold (and his wife Jill), five grand nephews and nieces: Finn Swanstrom Arnold, Sorley Swanstrom Arnold, Elizabeth Huntington Arnold, Catherine Ford Arnold, and Matthew Liu Arnold. Also, very special to John were his Beale cousins Ann, Cynthia, Gwen, Ben, Jon, Molly, Lynda, Didi, and his aunt Garie Perry. He also adored the extended Arnold family: Gretchen and Craig Carpenter, Steve Irwin Arnold, Amy and Todd Burns, Ben and Molly Carpenter, Jake and Robin Carpenter, and their families.

He is predeceased by his father, Merrill Beale, and mother, Faith Elizabeth Huntington Beale; his grandfather, Arthur Stanley Beale, and grandmother, Ethel Merrill Beale; his grandfather Pardon Huntington, and grandmother, Emma Power Huntington; his brother-in-law Fred Arnold; and his cousins David, Sarah, Douglas, and Diane.

John struggled with his physical decline in the last year of his life. He believed in the Serenity Prayer:

John was wise and understood the difference. We love you, John. You will live in our hearts.

A celebration of life will be held on Friday, September 20, 2024, at 11:00 AM at the Blake Lamb Funeral Home, 5015 Lincoln Avenue, Lisle, IL 60532 followed by a military service at 2:30 PM to honor John at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, 20953 W Hoff Rd, Elwood, IL 60421.

Memorials may be made to a favorite charity, the Gift of Hope, or the Chicago Civil War Round Table.