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Submitted: 4/18/13 • Approved: 9/20/16 • Last Updated: 9/23/16 • R864819-G0-S3
March 19, 1919 - June 27, 2010
*Obituary
Edward Chester ‘Ches' Beckham, 91, died at noon, June 27 at home in Mt.View, Arkansas, of natural causes.
He was born March 19, 1919 on the Rocky Bayou Beckham family farm located four miles east of Mt. View in the home built by his grandfather in 1852. Also born in the same house were his brother, sisters and father.
Mr. Beckham was the son of Dow Malone Beckham and Retha (Poff) Beckham of Mt. View; the grandson of Elihu Christopher Beckham, Civil War veteran whose parents Joshua and Catherine (Hinkle) Beckham settled Rocky Bayou before the civil war. His grandmother, Rhoda Lancaster Beckham was the granddaughter of Daniel Wilson, who settled at the confluence of Rocky Bayou and White River in 1810. Mr. Beckham's family, having resided for 200 years on Rocky Bayou, was among the earliest pioneering families of Stone County, Arkansas.
Mr. Beckham was known for his wry humor, intelligence, discipline, affable good-nature and self-taught skills as a master mechanic who always provided good Samaritan assistance to both friends and strangers needing help. He frequently demonstrated an uncanny ability to build and repair virtually any type of machinery.
As a child of 13 he contracted bone disease which at that time was often fatal. Despite his disabilities he graduated Mt. View High School in 1937, then worked the family farm; served in the Civilian Conservation Corp during WWII and helped found, build and operate a garage in Mt. View. After the war he again worked the family farm but following successive droughts relocated his family to Oregon in 1954 to work in the Oregon woods as a logger, equipment operator and mechanic. He did it all despite what in the modern era would be major disabling physical limitations imposed by childhood disease. He was a mechanic for Wildish Sand and Gravel from the mid-60's until his retirement and returned to Mt.View in 1982.
Mr. Beckham is survived by his wife of 69 years, Oma Lea (Decker) Beckham; sons Dow Edward Beckham of Mt. View, Arkansas; Decker Lee Beckham (wife Cheryl) of Springfield, Oregon and Stephen Lyn Beckham of Canby, Oregon; four grandchildren: Melinda Perkins, Cottage Grove, Oregon; Vanessa Sikorski, Portland; Lisa Stedman and Jeff Beckham, Springfield, Oregon; eight great-grandchildren; sisters Pauline Teague of. Mt.View, Arkansas and Frances Osborn of Batesville, Arkansas. He was proceeded in death by his older brother Blake Beckham, Mt. View, and younger sister Veda Mae Wallace, Batesville.
Mr. Beckham was a member of Flatwoods Baptist Church. A family burial will precede a public memorial service scheduled at 11 a.m. Thursday, July 1 at Flatwoods Baptist Church, in Mt. View, Arkansas. Officiating Pastor Dennis Wilson and Pastor Joe Morell. Pallbearers are Donald Beckham, David Beckham, Jerry Osborn, Paul Teague, Dale Teague, Jim Wallace and Bill May. Honorary pallbearers are Jeff Beckham, Dean Kirby, Ronnie Sterling, Herbert Poff, Bill Gayler and Vernon Lawrence.
Roller Crouch Funeral Home, Mtn. View is in charge of the arrangements.
Contributed on 4/18/13 by sandhollow
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Record #: 864819