We lost a valued member of the FAL Board in September. David Beall died on September 9 after a short illness. He was 84.
David joined our board six years ago and was a willing volunteer for many projects. He served on the Communications Committee, he was the board secretary, and he wrote many articles for this newsletter. He was also co-founder of our Friends @ Home program and worked tirelessly behind the scenes to produce all the author and art docent programs we have sponsored. He took a deep interest in the Friends @ Home author talks and engaged diverse, interesting writers to share their books with the FAL community. David always had a positive attitude. He was funny and kind and had insightful thoughts about board issues.
David served 20 years in the Navy, during which time he achieved the rank of Commander. He ended his Naval career in Alameda working on the Admiral’s staff. David had a BA in English and an MS in Physics. He met his wife, Joan, in college. They were engaged three weeks after they met and were married for 62 years. They raised three sons: Christopher, Michael and Matthew.
David and Joan owned Riverbend Bookstore in Virginia Beach for many years, and they are still in touch with the community they built around the store there. In addition to volunteering with the Friends, David was an active volunteer for Alameda Meals on Wheels and an employee for the SF Giants, where he ushered at games for 19 years. He loved mystery books and was a member of Mastick’s Mystery Book Club. He will be deeply missed.
A memorial service was held on November 5 at 3 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library (1550 Oak Street, Alameda, CA) in the Stafford Room.