Harold "Bill" Beebe

Harold "Bill" Beebe, 91, passed away peacefully in Pocatello on June 20, 2015.
Bill was born on September 14, 1923 in Salix, Iowa. He was the last and tenth child born to Edward and Phoebe Beebe. He was raised in several farm communities in Iowa until the family moved to Tyhee, Idaho in 1936. He attended Irving Junior High School and the 10th grade at Pocatello High School.

Bill joined the U.S. Navy when he was 17 years old, and he turned 18 in Hawaii in September 1941. He was assigned to the Destroyer U.S.S. Blue (DD-387), and was on the ship when the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. While patrolling in "Iron Bottom Sound," near Guadalcanal, the U.S.S. Blue was torpedoed and, after many attempts to save her, was scuttled on 23 August 1942. Bill was later assigned to the U.S.S. Hancock. He was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy after V-J Day in August 1945.

Bill married Evelyn Elaine Spaulding on June 8, 1947, in Thornton, Idaho, at her parent's home.
In 1947, Bill hired out as a fireman for the Union Pacific Railroad. During the times when he was laid off from UP, he also worked for Field's Furniture, drove trucks for Cahoon Construction around the State of Idaho, and harvested spuds and grain for his father-in-law. He became a full-time engineer for the Union Pacific Railroad in 1962 and continued in that position until he retired in 1985.

After Elaine retired from the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union in 1988, they became snowbirds, spending the winters in Indio, California. They made many special friends during these years. They also traveled throughout the United States, spending eight months traveling in their motorhome through the Northern states to the Eastern Seashore and returning through the Southern states. They traveled to Egypt, England, Greece, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, China, and Panama with family and friends. Bill was a lifetime member of the Pearl Harbor Survivor's Association, and he and Elaine attended their every five-year reunion. His children and grandchildren have traveled several times with them to Hawaii.

Bill is survived by his wife of 68 years, Elaine, of Pocatello, and four children, Lea Ann, Pocatello; Patricia (Richard Goode), Pocatello; Steven (RichAnn), Pocatello; Kevin (Carol), Inkom; He has 10 grandchildren: Stephanie (Michael) Jones, Shayna (Wayne) Ellis, Andrew (Anne Marie) Goode, Nicholas (Tracy) Beebe, Skyler (Natalie) Beebe, Eric (Nolan) Anderson, Matthew (Rachel) Beebe, Starla (Jason) Knighton, Sharlyn (Dallon) Reddish, and Carly Beebe, and 25 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and siblings, Ethel, Rose, Henrietta, Opal, Reginald, Alvin, Louella and Julia.

Funeral services for Bill will be at 11:00 AM, Friday, June 26, 2015 at Wilks Funeral Home, 211 W. Chubbuck Road. A viewing will be held 6-8 PM, Thursday and one hour prior to the services at the funeral home. His interment will follow the services at Restlawn Memorial Gardens with Military Rites provided by the Pocatello Veterans Honor Guard.

Condolences may be sent to the Beebe family online at www.wilksfuneralhome.com.