William Franklin Beach Jr.

William Franklin Beach, Jr. (Bill Beach), born September 20, 1951 passed away peacefully at home on June 18, 2021 with his wife, Deb Beach by his side. He was preceded in death by his parents, William and Betty Beach and his sister, Jana MacBeth. Surviving are his wife Deb Beach (Numbers), his two children, Brian Beach (Alec Anderson) and Elizabeth Gannon (Nathan Gannon) and their two children, the greatest loves of Bill’s life, Riley William and Reese Ellen Gannon. Also surviving are his siblings James Haynes, Nancy Logan, and Kathy Hawk along with several nieces and nephews.

Bill was born in Indianapolis, Indiana and attended Richmond High School in Richmond, Indiana. He lettered in football all four years of high school and was recruited to play Division 1 football in college. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ball State University. While attending Ball State he met his wife at a Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity party. According to Deb he ‘was acting like he was very important’ in his maroon and white herringbone sports coat with matching maroon pants. Bill and Deb were married in August of 1974. They would have celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary this year, but if you would have asked Bill, he liked to say it felt more like 15 minutes…under water.

In 1977, Bill and Deb moved to Peoria, Illinois so Bill could pursue his love of football and education at Limestone Community High School. He was hired by his greatest mentor Norman Endsley as the Assistant Football Coach and a Science teacher. In 1984 Bill was promoted to Head Football Coach. During his 9 year tenure he was the most successful football coach at Limestone with a win-loss record of 60/32. He lead his teams to 5 playoff appearances, with one being the semi-finals in 1985 and the quarter finals in 1990. Bill was also President of the Peoria Area Football Coaches Association, a Peoria Area Representative for the Illinois Football Coaches Association and is a member of the Limestone Community High School Athletic Hall of Fame. Bill proceeded to work his way up through Limestone’s administration as Dean, Principal and upon receiving his Doctorate in Education from Argosy University in Chicago, became the Superintendent, retiring in 2007.

In retirement Bill enjoyed playing poker with the OFL (Old Fart’s League), being the family travel agent (planning every minute of the vacation on his beloved Excel speadsheets) and spoiling his grandchildren rotten. Bill was deaf as a doorknob because his philosophy was “if it is too loud you are too old”. He enjoyed watching old movies and NCIS with his headphones on which of course exacerbated his hearing loss and made for some very interesting and comical conversations. He loved musical theatre, which was inspired by his son, Brian, who quickly became his favorite actor. Bill also became a professional napper, aspiring Instant-Pot chef and online shopper extraordinaire.

Bill Beach was larger than life, literally and figuratively. He always told his children there was more to love that way. Bill was a leader and a mentor to his players, students, and peers. His motivational speeches were famous for leaving you in tears. He was a generous and kind man who loved his family deeply.

Although we will not be able to accommodate Bill’s wish for a Viking funeral on his old bass boat, there will be a Celebration of Life at Coyote Creek Golf Course on Sunday, June 27, 2021 from 1:00pm – 3:00pm. The celebration will be informal, dress casually, and if you have a Bill Beach story, we would love to hear it. In lieu of flowers, please make memorials in Bill’s name to the Limestone High School Scholarship Fund or to the Illinois CancerCare Foundation