Arbelyn Belva Beam, 82, a longtime Eagle Valley resident, died Sept. 8, 2006, at St. Elizabeth Health Services, surrounded by her family, after a brief bout with leukemia.
There will be a committal graveside service at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Eagle Valley Cemetery in Richland. A celebration of her life will begin at 11 a.m. at the New Bridge Nazarene Church. After the service, friends are invited to join the family for a luncheon and reception at the New Bridge Grange.
Arbelyn was born on July 27, 1924, at Richland to Elmer and Effie Simonis. She was a Richland High School graduate and attended Baker Business School.
She worked for many years as a bank teller, both in Baker City and at Bothell, Wash. She married Martin Beam in 1964 and together they raised her daughter and his five children.
They spent three years in New Zealand. Upon returning to the United States in 1972, they lived at Bothell Wash., until they retired to Camano Island, Wash., in 1979. Then in 1993 they returned to Eagle Valley where they first met. Arbelyn lived the remainder of her life there among friends and family.
Early in her life, she enjoyed horseback riding. Arbelyn will be remembered most for her love of family, bridge, fishing, flowers and quilting. Her special laugh brought joy and delight to those who knew and loved her. She will be deeply missed by family and friends.
Survivors include her husband of 42 years, Martin Beam; her sister, Beverly Hendrick of Richland; her children, Debra Vanover of Lebanon, Russell and his wife, Beverly Strand, of Adelanto, Calif., Dennis and his wife, Darlene Beam, of Richland, Becky and her husband, Steve Lawrie, of Sitka, Alaska, Gregory Beam of Camano Island, Wash., and Stephanie and her husband, Eric Peterson, of Sitka, Alaska; 23 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Richland Ambulance EMTs or the New Bridge Nazarene Church through Tami’s Pine Valley Funeral Home P.O. Box 543 Halfway, OR 97834.
Used with permission from: Baker City Herald, Baker City, Oregon, September 11, 2006
Transcribed by: Belva Ticknor