Bob J. Beavers

Bob J. Beavers was born March 27, 1933, and departed this life October 24, 2017. He was the son of Ottaway Beavers and Mayme McCollum Beavers. He was born in Lonoke County Arkansas. He was a country boy at heart, Bobby not Robert. He moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, at an early age and his family was active in Highland Methodist Church. It was there he met the love of his life, Virginia Grubbs. They dated through high school and two years of LRJC. They married before he transferred to the University of Arkansas. They have been happily married for over 64 years, only rarely spending a day apart. Bob was one of the proudest graduates of the relatively new architecture program at the U of A in 1957. He studied under founder Teach Williams and acclaimed but then young professor Fay Jones. He was awarded the John G. Williams Fellowship in March of 2006. Bob was proud to have spent his career associated with and as a principal and Vice-President of Cromwell Architects (or Ginnochio, Cromwell Carter & Dees. as it was known in 1957 when he joined the firm). He opened the firm's East Arkansas branch in 1963 when he moved to Forrest City to supervise the building of the Warwick plant, later Sanyo, and stayed expanding the firm’s projects with an emphasis on schools and municipal buildings all over eastern Arkansas. In 1980, he was named president of the firm's Memphis branch and was instrumental in growing it to over 30 professionals. The Memphis practice was later sold to the principals there and renamed Beavers Smith Langford and Mundinger ( BSLM), where he was privileged to get to work with his daughter who was Marketing Director. After his retirement from both Cromwell & BSLM in 1987, he stayed retired for three days then continued to be active forming Bob J. Beavers AIA, Inc. continuing to design independently and in joint venture with younger architects he respected such as Dave Hodges and those at the Cromwell firm. It is nearly impossible to traverse a full block in Forrest City without seeing one of his projects: the SFC Courthouse, every bank in town, the Civic Center, numerous residences and commercial buildings, every school built since 1963, both CRVT and almost every building on the EACC campus and several churches. Other buildings across east Arkansas and west TN also show his work. Since retirement he had a niche for designing community centers, fire stations and health departments in rural Arkansas. He learned to hunt and fish from his grandfathers David Beavers & Bobby McCollum and he spent much of his youth hunting ducks and fishing. He grew up just blocks from the old Ray Winder Field in LR and earned spending money shagging balls. He loved playing baseball and learned that game from his grandfather Bobby who once signed with the NY Yankees but elected to stay home to take care of his family. Bob learned that trait as well, becoming the family patriarch and Papoo to family and friends. Bob passed on his love of hunting, fishing and baseball to his son and grandson and was looking forward to fishing on the Little Red at Pangburn with his two great-grandsons just as he did with his father, his son and grandson at the Beavers Dam River House which he loved and shared with his whole family. A highlight of his life was trip to the World Series in 2011, with his son and surrogate traveling son Hank Neely, which he had wanted to attend since he didn’t get to go with his father in 1946. He loved any sporting event and traveling. He was a fantastic Cheerleader Dad and went to many ballgames all over Arkansas following his daughter. Then he did the same with his grandchildren. If you could get there in a car, he had been there, including all 48 continental states, Canada and Mexico. His wife and children even dragged him on trips to the Caribbean where he found he actually liked cruises because he found he could walk enough shipboard that his diabetes numbers would stay low even if he ate four meals and unlimited ice cream. He loved Razorback Football, supporting every team and cussing every coach back to Bowden Wyatt, usually from his season ticket seats in or near the south end zone in Fayetteville or at the many bowl games he took his family to see. His greatest joys were his children, grandchildren & great grandchildren. He adored spending time with them. He and Virginia would get in the car to go for lunch & call to say they were thinking of supper at Ft. Sill, OK to see his grandson & great-grandchildren. He was president of the FC Rotary club and a Paul Harris Fellow, President of the United Way of St Francis County, was past president of the Administrative Board , chairman of the Trustees & a longtime Sunday School teacher at First United Methodist Church of Forrest City.. He served many years as a Cub master of Pack 122 and Scoutmaster of Troop 122 and as district chairman and other district and counsel offices and was the Col Neil Snyder Cubmaster of the year for the East Arkansas Area Council and was awarded the Silver Beaver in 1979. He was very proud that both his son & grandson were Eagle Scouts. He is survived by his wife Virginia Beavers and a son, Brad Beavers and wife Rush of Forrest City, daughter Beth Prescott and husband Hal (who Bob once called the son he always wanted) of Fayetteville; granddaughter Rebekah Beavers Williams and husband Dave of Forrest City; grandson, First Sergeant B. J. Beavers, Jr. and wife Leslie of Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; and great-grandchildren Bradley James “Trey” Beavers III, upon whose birth, Bob said “This is the best day of my life”, Cayden Davis, and Mason Williams. Funeral services will be held Friday, October 27, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church. Burial will follow at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Cabot, Arkansas. Visitation will be Thursday, October 26, 2017 from 5:30 to 7:00 at the United Methodist Activity Center (UMAC) Gym at the Church. The family requests memorials be made to the First United Methodist Church, Forrest City, P.O. Box 66, Forrest City, AR 72335 or the St. Francis County Community foundation endowments for the SFC Elves, Inc. or the St. Francis County Museum, P.O. Box 3002, Forrest City, AR 72336 or at arcf.org.

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Bob J. Beavers

March 27, 1933 - October 24, 2017