Col Beeson
Age - 98
November 21, 2023
Muncie, IN - The Greatest Generation continues to fade. Col. (USAF-Ret) John D. Beeson, 98, who served his country in three wars, died Nov. 15, 2023. A Losantville native, his career in flight took him from tail gunner to aircraft commander and airport manager. Col. Beeson spent his last days at Westminster Village, Muncie, where he had lived since 2021. He was born on November 1, 1925 to Donald H. and Julia (Brewer) Beeson. He was preceded in death by his wife of 70 years, Dr. Betty Spillers Beeson, who died in November 2022. During his 26-year military career, Col. Beeson was a B-17 tail-gunner in World War II, a B-29 co-pilot in the Korean War and a B-52 commander during the Cold War. He served as chief of maintenance for a fighter wing during Vietnam. A graduate of Losantville High School, he enlisted in the US Army in 1943 when he was 18 years old and trained at the University of Kentucky, then transferred to the Army Air Corps for basic training and entered the aviation student program. He was assigned to be a flight instructor, but that program ended and he became a B-17 tail gunner with the 487th Bomber Group, 8th Air Force in the European Theater of Operations. His plane was shot down in April 1945 over Berlin on the group's 23rd mission. The crew bailed out behind the Russian lines. All but two of his crew members survived. Because his crew was still on leave from being shot down, they were able to leave their base when they returned to England and were in London for the VE Day celebration when Germany surrendered. Upon returning home from World War II, he enrolled at Ball State Teacher's College and earned his bachelor of science degree. Having completed the USAF ROTC program, where he was named outstanding cadet in his class, he re-entered the USAF upon his graduation in June 1950. After he completed pilot training at Connally and Reese Air Force bases, he spent the remainder of his career in the Strategic Air Command (SAC) except for a B-29 tour during the Korean War and a one-year tour at Ubon, Thailand, during the Vietnam conflict. Col. Beeson had two tours at SAC headquarters, in personnel and aircraft. His staff assignments included deputy chief of mission of the 99th Bomb Wing at Westover AFB and the 42nd Bomb Wing at Loring Air Force Base. He was chief of maintenance of the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing in Thailand and commander of the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell Air Force Base. He retired from the Air Force in 1975. He returned to Muncie and Ball State where he earned a master's degree. He taught industrial arts at Cowan High School for one year before returning to the skies. His second career in flight came as vice president of operations of Muncie Aviation Co. and president of the Muncie Airport, Inc. He managed the Delaware County Airport and flew all of the Piper aircraft from the Tomahawk trainer to the Cheyenne IV. He trained nearly 100 pilots on Cheyenne planes before he retired. Upon his retirement from Muncie Aviation and his wife's retirement from Ball State University, the couple moved to Cocoa Beach, Florida, less than half a mile from Patrick Air Force base, where they lived for more than three decades and watched space launches from their ocean front home. They made many new friends through their line-dancing and retired military activities. The eldest of seven, Col. Beeson is survived by all his siblings: Alice Johnson, Mary (Ron) Swingley, and Susan (Paul) Hoyt, all of Muncie; James and Richard (Susan) Beeson, Terre Haute, and Nancy Wilson, Richmond. His brothers-in-law Ben Johnson and Jim Wilson preceded him in death. Col. Beeson's surviving nieces and nephews are: Jane Holaday, Muncie; Judi (Grady) Williams, Yorktown; Karen (John) Turner, Burlington, KY; Kathy (John) Niznick, Blakely, PA; Anita Hoyt, Coldwater, MI; Angela Hoyt, Indianapolis, IN; Laura Rothwell, Brackley, England, UK; Andrew (Robin) Wilson, Avon Lake, OH; and Elizabeth Beeson (Michael) Williams, West Lafayette. A niece, Amy Hoyt Waters, died in 1989. Additional family members include the children of his late wife's first cousin, Joan Marie Grove Curless. Betty Beeson and her cousin were both only children, and the Beesons considered Joan's children their nephews. They are: Steven Curless, Straughn; Michael (Amanda) Curless, Winchester; Tom Curless, Muncie; and Christina Rhum, Redkey, daughter of the late Jim Curless. A funeral service will be held at 12:00 pm on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chapel. Burial will follow at Woodlawn - Maxville Cemetery, east of Farmland. Family and friends may call from 10:00 am until the time of service on Saturday, November 25, 2023, at The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory, Washington Street Chaple. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to the Betty J. Beeson Teaching Scholarship at Ball State University The Meeks Mortuary and Crematory is in charge of all arrangements and online condolences may be left for the family at www. meeksmortuary. comShow more
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