Ronald Ward Beech

After 92 years of blessed life, Ronald Ward Beech passed away on January 23, 2019.  Ron was born to Walter and Viola Beech in Victoria, British Columbia, on October 5, 1926.  His family moved to Kirkland, Washington, when Ron was 4 years old.  He attended the Redmond-Kirkland schools until June 1944 when he graduated early from high school to enlist in the U. S. Navy during World War II.  He was sent to Farragut Naval Training Camp in North Idaho and, following basic training, received marine diesel training at Iowa State College in Ames, Iowa.  He was then assigned to a ship in the Pacific Amphibious Fleet and was part of such naval actions as the Liberation of the Philippines and the occupation of Japan.  After his honorable discharge from the Navy in 1946, Ron enrolled in Perry Institute in Yakima, Washington, and completed a course in refrigeration in 1949.  Following a year of work in the refrigeration industry, Ron enrolled in Northwest Nazarene College, graduating cum laude in 1954 with a degree in Education.  While at NNC, Ron met and married his wife of 45 years, Neva Templeman.  They moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where Ron attended Nazarene Theological Seminary while also teaching in the public schools in in the Kansas City area.  In 1958, Ron was called to pastor the Nazarene church in Leavenworth, Washington.  In 1962, Ron and Neva (along with their family of five kids) were appointed as career missionaries to the Philippines where he served as church planter and, later, as an administrator and professor at Luzon Nazarene Bible College for 15 years.  After receiving his doctorate in Theology, Ron was a founding faculty member of Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary in Manila, Philippines, where he taught from 1983 through 1993.  Following his retirement in 1993, Ron and Neva served as Nazarenes in Volunteer Service, assisting at Bible colleges in Australia and Samoa.  After Neva’s death in 1998, Ron kept active with the Nazarene Work and Witness program in Papua New Guinea, Ukraine, and Kosovo.  He married Doris Cook in 2001, and they enjoyed 17 years of life together, traveling and volunteering with many programs through Northwest Nazarene University and First Church of the Nazarene in Nampa.  Ron is missed by his wife, Doris Beech and her daughter Gwynn (Cliff) Bates; his sister Lois (Charles) Wilkes and their family; his children Barbara (Mark) York, Colleen (Bob) Skinner, Cathy (Kevin) Borger, Lynette (Dan) Cochran, and Barry (Molly) Beech.  Seeing his 16 grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren brought him so much joy.   Ron lived true to the words of one of his favorite songs: “Here’s my life, use me Lord.”  God blessed our lives with this wonderful man. A memorial service will be held at 3:00PM on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at First Church of the Nazarene, 601 16th Avenue South, Nampa, Idaho. Arrangements are under the direction and care of Alsip and Persons Funeral Chapel, 404 10th Avenue South, Nampa, Idaho. 208.466.3545. To view Ron’s online guest book or to leave condolences please visit: www.alsippersons.com

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Ronald Ward Beech, please visit our floral store.