A valued member of the Alameda community, David Beall, died on September 9 after a short illness. He was 84.
[1]David was born November 20, 1938, in San Bernardino, California. He graduated from high school in Quincy, California, where he lettered in both football and baseball. He then attended the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.
After university, David attended Officer Candidate School and became a commissioned officer in the Navy in 1961. He served 20 years in the Navy, achieving the rank of Commander. David received a Master of Science degree in Physics from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, in 1971. He completed his Naval career working on an Admiral’s staff at Naval Air Station Alameda.
David 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.
After retiring from the Navy, David and Joan owned Riverbend Bookstore in Virginia Beach, Virginia, for many years, and they are still in touch with the community they built around the store there.
After returning to the Bay Area, David became an employee of the San Francisco Giants, where he worked as an usher for 19 years. David was active in the Alameda community. He joined the board of the Friends of the Alameda Library, where he most recently served as Secretary, and was a co-founder of the Friends at Home program. David was also a volunteer for Alameda Meals on Wheels.
A memorial service will be held on November 5 at 3 p.m. at the Alameda Free Library [2], 1550 Oak St., in the Stafford Room.