William Beattie

Obituary: William Bruce “Bill” Beattie

March 18, 1933 – August 14, 2019

William Bruce “Bill” Beattie, of Concord, VT, formerly of Lyndonville and St Johnsbury, Vermont, passed away suddenly on August 14, 2019, at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital.

Born in Lyndon, Vermont on March 18, 1933, he was the son of Harold and Phyllis Wallace Beattie.

While a student at Danville High School, class of 1952, he attended Boys State, excelled in sports and was captain of the cross-country team and came in first at the state meet during his senior year. Bill enlisted in the United States Air Force during the Korean conflict and served from 1953 to 1957, attaining the rank of staff sergeant. Upon returning to the States from Okinawa, he and Joan Johnston were married on December 18, 1955.

With his keen and delightful sense of humor, Bill was always a willing participant in school plays and community fundraising events — once joining a musical chorus of tutu-clad PTA fathers.

His camp, ‘Bee At Ease’ on Shadow Lake in Concord, Vermont, with its open doors was a busy gathering place for family and friends, who enjoyed barbecues, corn roasts, and cruises around the lake on his somewhat antediluvian houseboat — his faithful dog by his side — always an adventure — not always intentional!

Bill enjoyed camping, cooking, music, dancing, and tinkering. He could fix “darn near everything,” enjoyed a good joke, and always had a humorous story to tell.

Upon retirement as a sales employee with New Hampshire Plumbing Supply, he relocated to Brooksville, Florida, while spending summers at his camp on Shadow Lake, where for many years he was heavily involved in the community, serving thirty years as president of the Shadow Lake Association. Kind, organized, always a willing helper, his energy and enthusiasm never wavered.

Bill was a 65 year member of Washburn Masonic Lodge No. 92 in Danville, an active member of VFW and Moose Lodge in St. Johnsbury, as well as a member of Egypt Shriners in Brookridge, Florida, and American Legion #0186 in Spring Hill, and he worked with the Hernando County Sheriff Department as a Crimewatcher.

He was a member of the Grace Methodist Church in St Johnsbury and the Mariner Methodist Church in Spring Hill, Florida.

Bill is survived by his children, Carol of Waitsfield, Vermont; William and his wife, Jeanne, of Knoxville, Tennessee; Linda of Lyndonville; as well as his former spouse; his fiancée, Linda Rafuse; nine grandchildren; two siblings, Elizabeth (William) Bolevic of Danville and Donald (Constance) of Lyndonville; and half siblings, Alice, Jane, Mary, Holly, Martin, Marion, Thomas, Marilyn, and Catherine of Danville. Bill was predeceased by his son Kevin, brother Robert, and half-brother Harold W. (Occie) Beattie, Jr.

A private Masonic service is planned at a future date.

Donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Shriners Children’s Hospital through their website or by mail at the following address: Shriners Hospital for Children, Attn: Office of Development, 2900 N Rocky Point Dr., Tampa, FL 33607

Memories and condolences can be shared with the family online at www.saylesfh.com