Luther Martin Beman, age 90, died on February 18, 2013, following a short illness. Mr. Beman was born on the family farm in Thurman, Ohio, on November 6, 1922, and lived his final years with his daughter and family in Ravenna, Ohio. He was the son of David Morgan Beman and Bernice Regina Safford.
He is survived by his three children: Mary Ann Beman-Nething (Don), Ravenna, Jane Beman, Pt. Pleasant, WV, and Dennis Beman (Tammy), Rio Grande, OH. Also, three grandsons: Drew Beman (Brittany), and Daniel and Benjamin Nething, Ravenna. Local family include sister-in-law, Naomi Fellure Beman, nieces, Joan Beman and Janet Stephens (Larry), and nephews, Dwight Lloyd (Becky) and Charles Beman (Susan).
On his mother’s side, Luther’s family traced deep roots in Gallia County, directly back to the original settlers who founded Gallipolis. He was raised on the Beman White Oak Farm, which included many years traveling to show Polled Shorthorn cattle and Chester White hogs at fairs and expositions across the Midwest. He attended Ohio State University, before enlisting in the U.S. Navy following the attack on Pearl Harbor during WW II. He served on the USS Atherton, a destroyer escort in the seas around North Africa. After the war, he returned home, and while showing cattle at the Jackson County Fair, he met his future wife, Donna Denney Beman of Wellston, whom he married in 1952.
He was a member of the Simpson Chapel U.M. Church and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He belonged to the Ohio Rural Letter Carriers Association, where he served as state secretary. He belonged to the Gallipolis Chapter of Parents Without Partners, and the Pt. Pleasant Shrine Club. He was a 32nd Degree Mason and a 50-year member of the Centreville Masonic Lodge #371. He retired after 37 years of service to the U.S. Postal Service as a rural carrier for the post offices in Thurman and Oak Hill. After his retirement, he enjoyed his volunteer work at Bossard Library and Holzer Medical Center.
He was preceded in death by his parents; in-laws, Frank and Mary (Downard) Denney; brothers, Floyd and Fred Beman; sister, Ruth Beman Lloyd; his wife, Donna Denney Beman; and son, Daniel Martin Beman.
A celebration of his life will be held on March 9th at Simpson Chapel U.M. Church in Rio Grande, Ohio. Calling hours will be from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. with services to follow. In lieu of flowers, his family requests that donations be made in his honor to: the Cincinnati Shriners Children’s Hospital, for services to burned children; Simpson Chapel U.M. Church, or Bossard Library, Gallipolis. His family invites you to send messages and memories at: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lutherbeman.
via Luther Martin Beman – Jackson and Vinton County’s Home Page – www.theTelegramNews.com – Jackson, OH.