Herman Harry Beil

Herman Harry Carl Beil was born January 23, 1910 in Aquackanonk Township known today a Clifton, New Jersey. In 1912, at age 2, he traveled by steamship to Germany with his father to tend to a family business. Trapped by the beginnings of World War I and their family inn taken over by the German Army, Herman's father was conscripted into the German Army as a driver of the horse drawn cannons.

Herman was made to crawl through enemy lines wearing an adult's coat with special pockets for the purpose of bringing potatoes and other foodstuffs back to his family. Herman was unable to return to his native America until age 12 in 1924. Unable to speak a word of English, he was forced to attend school with first graders. Herman was a gifted self-taught artist known for his paintings of Cape Cod seascapes and landscapes.

He was also known for his hand-carved birds and sea creatures. As a young man, Herman joined the Merchant Marines and served as Bell Captain on the steamships SS Virginia and SS Manhattan traveling to Germany and through the Panama Canal to Los Angeles. Later he was employed by Jacque Wolf Chemicals and the Tenneco Corporation of Garfield, New Jersey. Herman rose to the position of Foreman at Tenneco, served as Fire Marshall and an Air Raid Warden during World War II. He retired from Tenneco in 1972. Herman met his wife to be, Lucy Bendelius, while a member of St. John's Lutheran Church of Passaic, NJ.

Herman and Lucy were married May 28, 1938. They resided in Clifton, NJ for forty years. Herman and Lucy retired to their Cape Cod dream home in Eastham, Massachusetts in 1978 for twenty-three wonderful years. They became Charter Members of St. Peter's Lutheran Church, Harwich, Mass. Herman and Lucy moved to San Antonio, TX on December 27, 2001 to be near their daughter and only child, Susan Beil Connally. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary in 2003. Herman passed away April 1, 2004 at the age of 94.

He is survived by his wife Lucy A. Beil, daughter, Susan Beil Connally, son-in-law, John Michael Connally; grandson and wife, Kevin Chandler Connally and Wendy Strader Connally of Austin, TX, and granddaughter Karin Lynn Connally of Chicago, IL.