John H. (“Jack”) Beaman went home to heaven, April 15, 2010. He was 91. He was residing in Kirkland, Wash.

He was born to Addie and C. Lester Beaman on September 1, 1918, in Marysville, Wash. He was the youngest of four children.

Jack was a strong, gentle man who was devoted to his wife Betty, his family, friends and his country. He never hesitated to be there for all of them.

Jack spent the summer before his senior year in high school working for the CCC Camp in Darrington, Wash.. Then, as a senior, he played for the Marysville High School football team.

Upon high school graduation in 1936, Jack did a four year enlistment in the Navy which ended shortly before the US involvement in WWII started. He served on the USS California and the USS Savannah.

He was immediately recalled into the Navy after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was accepted to flight training and got his wings and commission as an Ensign in 1944. The announcement made the front page of the August 24, 1944, Marysville Globe, complete with a picture. He flew submarine patrol missions during the war.

After the war, the Navy sent him to the University of Wash. He met and married his first wife, Lois Daniels in 1948, and they followed his squadron to Hawaii. Tragically, however, Lois contracted polio and lost her battle in March 1949.

Jack’s Navy career spanned 26 years and included assignments to Patuxent River test pilot school; to fly Senators around the world; studies at the Line School in Monterey; flight instructor in Pensacola; advanced training in Chicago; qualifying the A3D for carrier landing; service on USS Badoeng Strait; service on USS Bon Homme Richard; and the Navy office at Douglas Aircraft, El Segundo, Calif.

Jack’s second career was with North American (Rockwell International). He managed an environmental test team for the Apollo Program until retirement in 1983.

Along with his wife Betty, Jack was an amazing cook and gardener. They loved to gather with friends for dinner. In retirement, the two found time to travel and make a number of trips to Hawaii. Jack was widowed again in 1991, when Betty lost her battle with lung cancer.

Jack returned to Wash. in 1998, with his daughter’s family; living in Redmond, and later, Kirkland.

The magnificent John Hart Beaman, loving son, brother, husband, father, and friend, is survived by his stepson Robert Wright, Jr.; son Charles L. Beaman, daughter Melinda Beaman Tyler, and grandsons Jeffry Wright, Michael Beaman, John Tyler and David Tyler. He taught his children and grandchildren how to love unconditionally and gave them an example of how deep a father’s love could be. He will be sorely missed.

Memorial service is private. Interment will be in Corona del Mar, California.