David Walter Beadles

Mr. David Walter Beadles died March 21, 2009, in Aiken, South Carolina. He was born on March 15, 1939 in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of the late Walter Castles Beadles and Helen Duggan Beadles. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1962, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity. After graduation, he served in the United States Army before beginning his insurance career as a claims executive. His career took him from Washington, DC to San Francisco, to Atlanta, to Chicago before his retirement from General Reinsurance, Inc. in 1998 when he and his wife moved to Aiken, SC. He was an avid tennis player and a runner all of his life. He took great pride in having run the Chicago Marathon two years in succession at the age of 54 and 55, his first marathons. Wherever he lived, Mr. Beadles was active in his church and his community. His life was defined by his service to others. He was president of the Northlake Rotary Club while in Atlanta and a member of the Rotary Club of Aiken. He was a charter member of Aiken Friends of the Opera and of the St. Andrew’s Society of Aiken, having served as its first vice president. He was a member of St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church where he served on the vestry and as both Jr. and SR. Wardens. After retiring from his insurance career, Mr. Beadles took a Master Gardener course and became an avid gardener. His interest in planting his own roses soon turned into a rose garden business known as Gardens by Beadles. Mr. Beadles was predeceased by his son, David Lon Beadles. He is survived by his wife Catherine Fleming Beadles, his daughter, Flora Catherine Beadles, his daughter-in-law Nicole Beadles, his granddaughter, Emilia Sophia Beadles, his sister Bonnie Beadles Dixon, and two nephews, David and Daniel Conway. A memorial service will be held at St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church in Aiken, SC, on March 23, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. with Rev. Howard Hess and Rev. Joseph Whitehurst officiating. Internment will follow. Immediately afterwards, the family will greet friends at a reception in the church parlor. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to St. Thaddeus Episcopal Church, 125 Pendleton Street, Aiken, SC 29801, Mead Hall Episcopal School, 129 Pendleton Street, Aiken, SC 29801 or Mary Hall Freedom House, 200 Hannover Park Road, Suite 100 Sandy Springs, GA 30350. Shellhouse Funeral Home, Inc., 924 Hayne Ave., Aiken, SC Please sign his on line memorial at Shellhousefuneralhome.com To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of David Walter Beadles, please visit our flower store.