William Arthur "Bill" Beecroft
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: 7 Dec 1934 - Prescott, Yavapai Co, AZ
Christening:
Death: 25 Jun 2009 - Pinetop-Lakeside, Navajo Co, AZ
Burial: 6 Jul 2009 - Lakeside Cemetery, Lakeside, Navajo Co, AZ
Cause of Death: Lewy body Dementia
AFN :
Events
• Obituary
William Arthur "Bill" Beecroft of Pinetop, Arizona began his journey into eternity, at his home in Pinetop the morning of June 25, 2009 at the age of 74, due to Lewy Body Dementia.• URL, http://www.billbeecroft.blogspot.com/
He was born in Prescott, Arizona on December 7, 1934. He began to decline rapidly on May 12, spending a few days at hospice and returning to his home where he was cared for and made comfortable. He is parted from his wife of 42 years, Patricia Ruth Beecroft. They were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple, June 10, 1967.
He leaves his son, Roger Beecroft; daughters, Yvonne Michelle and Malia Johnson, as well as 14 grandchildren. He was preceded in death by a son, Jeffrey Beecroft; sister, Mary Hardin; parents, Annie and Samuel Beecroft all of Phoenix.
After having attended the Phoenix Schools of Kennelworth and North Phoenix High School, he graduated from the University of Arizona in 1957 with a Bachelors of Accountancy; and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Fascinated with languages, he studied French, Spanish and German. A beginning golfer, he received an award for a "hole-in-one" at school. He would laugh and say that during the awards assembly he was sitting with the jocks of the school who were wearing lettermen sweaters!! His quips and sense of humor kept people laughing up to the very end.
As a Certified Public Accountant, he was employed by various Phoenix accounting firms and was Finance Director/Treasure for the town of Pinetop-Lakeside, Arizona for 10 years. After retiring, he worked part-time for the accounting firm Henry and Horne. He was an active member of APPLE CORE, and the Chamber of Commerce.
A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and High Priest's Quorum, he taught adult Sunday School classes in the 1980's. He pursued genealogy with fervor, and instilled his deep love for his ancestors in his children. He was a morning runner, a hiker, and was highly motivated by the stock market. He and his wife moved to Pinetop, full-time, from Phoenix in 1990. In his later years, he liked to do cross-word puzzles where he sat on the patio of his home in Pinetop and watched the wildlife and birds in the pines with his dog-pal, Bridget.
He played the organ as well as classical piano, and excelled in popular and jazz improvisation. He met his sweetheart, "Patti" through their mutual interest in piano and dancing. For every year of their marriage, at Christmas time, Bill arranged 20 minute Christmas Preludes for the organ and piano. They played before the Church services began the Sunday before Christmas. The Beecroft home was truly filled with music and love. One of a kind, he will be greatly missed.
One of the first to have a computer, he took to it "like a duck to water," teaching his children and others the skill. He enjoyed camping with family, and trips in their van. In 1983 and '84, he took the family to the Hawaiian Island for two weeks both summers. "Now is a good time", he said with a laugh and a grin, "between diapers and dates." Other summers were spent at their cabin in Pinetop beginning in 1985. He liked to work with wood, add onto the cabin, fix things, and build bird houses of his own design. Evidences of his life will always be with those who loved and remember him; loving husband, devoted father, treasured grandfather, loyal friend… until we meet again…..
A public visitation will be 6:00 to 8:00 P.M., Sunday, July 5, 2009 at Owens Livingston Mortuary - White Mountain Chapel, 320 N. 9th Street in Show Low, Arizona. The funeral service will begin at 10:00 A.M., Monday, July 6, 2009 at the Woodland Lake Ward Chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (on Buck Springs Road off Hwy #260 in Pinetop), where additional visitation will be from 9:00 A.M. to 9:45 A.M.
Interment will be at the Lakeside Cemetery in Lakeside. The family welcomes your thoughts, comments and memories about Bill on his memory blog: http://www.billbeecroft.blogspot.com
(Obit: Owens Livingston Mortuaries)
Parents
Father: Samuel Aylmer Beecroft
Mother: Annie Elizabeth Bell
Spouses and Children
1. *Patricia Ruth
Children:
1. Yvonne Michelle Beecroft
2. Roger Beecroft
3. Malia Beecroft
4. Jeffrey Beecroft