Myron (Bud) Beeson

Myron (Bud) Beeson

1926 ~ 2009

Myron (Bud) Beeson, died unexpectedly from a heart attack on April 29, 2009 while boating with his wife on Lake Powell. Bud was a devoted husband and father, and will be deeply missed by his wife Betty, his family, and his friends. He left a legacy of faith and work and enterprise. Bud was a classic American self-made man.

Bud was born in humble circumstances to Perry Beeson and Gertrude Still on July 11, 1926 on a Kansas farm. The family moved to Colorado in the 1930s, where he worked as a young boy in a family owned logging camp and lumber business. As an adult, he established with partners two prominent businesses that served clients throughout the western United States, and beyond. From the time he joined the LDS Church in the 1950s, Bud served faithfully in many callings and assignments for the rest of his life.

Bud enlisted in the U.S. Navy at age 16 during World War II where he served in the Pacific Theatre as part of the highly dangerous amphibious landing operations. After returning to the family lumber business in Colorado after the war, he reenlisted in the Navy for the Korean Conflict. While Bud was in the military during World War II, his father moved to Utah to help build Hill Air Force Base, and Bud occasionally visited his father in Utah while on leave from the Navy. On one of those occasions in Utah he met Helen Vernon. They were married after his discharge from the Navy following the Korean conflict. They made their home in Layton, Utah where Bud''s father had settled and where Helen also had family.

Helen introduced Bud to stake missionaries from the LDS Church. His decision to join and serve in the Church transformed his life and has impacted countless others. Bishop Robert J. Christiansen once said of Bud Beeson, "He is the kind of person that makes the Church such a blessing to others a€" he gives not only money, but he gives his time." In addition to serving in the Church, Bud also served in his community in various capacities, including serving on the East Layton City Council for a number of years. Bud and Helen sealed their marriage in the Salt Lake Temple of the LDS Church, raised three sons and one daughter, and established a tradition of faith, hard work and enterprise that his descendants carry on.

Beginning in the 1950s, Bud worked in the commercial refrigeration contracting industry in Salt Lake City, Utah. In the early 1970s, and again in the early 1980s, he was part of the creation of commercial refrigeration contracting companies that served primarily the supermarket industry. Their client list included some of the largest supermarket chains in the United States and his technical expertise was a valued resource to clients as they expanded their operations and built new supermarkets during remarkable periods of growth. Toward the end of his professional career, his wife Helen passed away. Subsequently, Bud married Elizabeth (Betty) Camper, also from Layton. After Bud''s retirement, he and Betty enjoyed skiing, boating, fishing, gardening and traveling with friends and family. But in addition, they served as in the Ogden Temple as temple workers for over five years, and served three missions for the LDS Church. Their missions took them to Independence, Missouri, the Family History Center in St. George, Utah and the Visitors Center in Cody, Wyoming. Their commitment and dedication has provided their family a legacy of faith and their friends and associates an example of devotion that will long be remembered and emulated.

Bud is survived by his wife Elizabeth (Betty) Ure Camper, sons Wayne, David and Sam, daughter Amelia, sister Juanita Pizzuti, nineteen grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, and more on the way.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 11 a.m. at Lindquist''s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road. Friends and family may call Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Tuesday from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the mortuary.

Interment, Kaysville City Cemetery.