James Bean Obituary (2021) – Sun Prairie, WI

Bean, James T. III

MADISON – To all of you who check the obituaries every day to make sure you’re not there, greetings! Hi. My name is Jim Bean and I passed away on Thursday, September 9, 2021 from complications related to exposure to Agent Orange (service in Vietnam). At the time of my death, I was 77 years old, having been born on April 12, 1944 in Chicago, where my parents, Harold and Evelyn Bean lived. An older brother, Hal Bean (Indianapolis … 2018), and a younger sister, Mary Evelyn Lough (Lakeland, Florida … 2009), have passed away before me.

I was named in honor of my grandfather who was ordained in the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1898, and my great-grandfather, who was chaplain in the Union forces during the Civil War.

I graduated from Henry Coburn 66 Public School (now a condominium) and Shortridge High School (“A disciplined mind and a cultivated heart are elements of power.” – Caleb Mills) in Indianapolis where my parents moved in 1945. I also received a BS Diploma (this is Bachelor de Sscience LOL) from Indiana University at Bloomington, a Masters of Divinity (MDIV) from the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary (PLTS) in Berkeley, Calif., and a Doctorate of Ministry (DMin) from the Graduate Theological Foundation of Mishawaka , in the Ind. I was ordained in the American Lutheran Church (ALC) which became part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA) in 1980. I have served parishes in Milwaukee and Madison.

I served in the United States Army from 1966 to 1970 and reached the rank of Staff Sergeant, serving in El Paso, Texas, Republic of South Vietnam (Saigon) where I was the NCOIC of the Public Information Division of the Bureau of Information at MACV Headquarters at Tan Son Nhut Air Force Base and then taught journalism at the Defense Information School in Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.

I have survived cancer 14 times and suffered from heart disease, various cancers and diabetes, caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

I was lucky enough to marry my best friend, Carol Quackenbush, on April 4, 1970. Our daughter, Sarah Elizabeth Nicole Lynn Denman (Dan), came to live with us in 1982. We always thought she was the one. best thing that can happen to us. In our lifes.

I have four nieces and nephews, Ann Elizabeth Bailey (Kyle) from Ashville, North Carolina, Andrew Bean (Emily) from Indianapolis, Christopher Lough (Brandi) from Georgia and Matthew Lough (Angela) from Lakeland, Florida. I also have special cousins ​​Carol Neufer (Indianapolis) and her children Nancy, Jeff and David … also Bethany (Beane) Ramey Trembley (Richard) from Buda, Texas.

I was cremated because I can’t stand the thought of harmful chemicals in my body even though I am dead … Not acceptable.

A memorial service will be held at the Lutheran Church of Peace, Waunakee. The date of the service is being planned and an announcement will be made. I want it to be in good weather and without pandemic complications so that everyone is comfortable and having fun.

I want to thank the Department of Veterans Affairs for providing care to me. I have never experienced any insensitivity or lack of worry, and although their care for me was very good, I still would have preferred to have my health. As a country, we should never have been in South Vietnam in the first place. I am a democrat. I also regret not having lived long enough to see Donald Trump in orange prison with a shaved head. I’m sorry, too, for not having learned the secret of Oak Island (“Could it be” … ???).

As I look back on my life now at its end, I am amazed at how lucky I have been. I was fortunate to have been born to the parents I had. My father was a gentle man in every sense of the word and has become the role model for the man I hope to become. He stood up to distribute the cards. My mom was passionate about our family in the only way she understood, but she made sure Hal, Mary Evelyn, and I were enveloped in love.

I was fortunate enough to grow up in Indianapolis. At that time, it was a cultural backwater that we called “India-no-place” and “Neon Cornfield”. The two things he had going for him were the Indianapolis Indians, where I had the privilege of seeing Rocky Colavito, Herb Score and Harmon Killebrew play, and the Indianapolis 500.

I was fortunate enough to go to Shortridge High School. The above quote, “A disciplined mind and a cultivated heart are elements of power,” was written above the bow of the proscenium in the auditorium, and this quote fully describes the school. . The auditorium was named after Caleb Mills (his quote), who was Indiana’s first public school superintendent. My high school choir director was Don Neuen, who later became deputy director of the Atlanta Symphony under the direction of Robert Shaw, the president of choral music at UCLA and the choirmaster at Chrystal Cathedral. The Shortridge’s music program was first rate and offered many opportunities for growth.

I was fortunate to attend and finally graduate from Indiana University and be a member of the Zeta chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta social fraternity (“Not for college days alone. “).

Even when I joined the army, I was lucky. My MOS as a military journalist kept me safe even in Vietnam. My service in Vietnam has caused a serious deterioration in my health over the past few years, but the government has supported me and all other Vietnamese vets in our health problems from Agent Orange.

Besides meeting and marrying Carol, my luckiest thing was being able to sing. I can’t sing anymore, and it’s painful. I have been singing in front of people since I was 5 years old. My high school program “Chorus” every Wednesday. We have come together at different times and ages. There was a cowboy song in American Book of Song 1 that was used in kindergarten, and I loved that song and wanted to sing it. I sang my whole life until my lungs started to fail and I wish I sang more.

But still, the luckiest thing to happen in my life was to fall in love with Carol Quackenbush, who is still the love of my life after 51 years. Her faith in me and the love she gives me never wavered, even when I wasn’t such a good husband. She was truly a gift from God.

After graduating from IU, I was fortunate enough to work as a public information officer for the Department of the Army at Fort McPherson, Ga., And then to be posted to the public affairs office of the Sixth Army at the San Francisco Presidio where I finally founded the Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley and began my theological studies. The staff at PLTS were top notch, and my spirit, soul, and faith were sustained and uplifted.

For my DMin project, I wrote three musical services: “A Day of Worship” (morning service, Eucharist and evening prayer) using what I learned in high school and the first two years of middle school.

I was a pastor for 20 years. It was the greatest honor and privilege to be with the families in their deepest joy and sorrow.

Perhaps I was not so lucky in my parishes, that I was told in one of them that I was exactly what they were looking for when I was, in reality, the last thing they were looking for; and in the second, an undercurrent of “originalist thinkers” who wanted the church to be exactly as it was in 1955.

After leaving the clergy list in 2001, I was fortunate enough to become choirmaster at the United Methodist Church of Lake Geneva, a position I held for 10 years.

I loved my life, and I hope you can say the same for yours. I enjoyed my family and friends. I still have high school and one, David Yager (Kathy) from Mooresville, NC, whom I have known since I was 5 years old. Another is Bob “Skip” Craft (Maureen) from Indianapolis. Skip and I played soccer for different elementary schools against each other.

I hope you will remember me fondly, that is all you can really ask for, and that you will forgive me for my faults which, in my opinion, were many.

With thanks to Andrew M. Greeley in “The Bishop and Beggar of St Germaine”, “My friends, we are so blind and deaf. The world is transparent. God whispers to us everywhere, speaks to us, shouts at us. Usually , we don’t hear. Sometimes we do. And then we know it’s all grace. “

Wow.

I love you all. See you in paradise.

Love cannot stop death, but death cannot stop love. Therefore, love wins.

Friends and family will gather from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. (noon) on Wednesday, October 6 at PEACE LUTHERAN CHURCH, 710 S. Century Ave., Waunakee, WI 53597, followed by a memorial service. Full military honors in church immediately follow the memorial service.

Please share your memories on www.CressFuneralService.com.

Cress Funeral and Cremation Service

1310 Emerald Terrace, Sun Prairie

(608) 837-9054