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David Beale Obituary
Dr. David A. Beale passed away in the evening of Sunday, September 9, 2018, at Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. On May 2 this year, he celebrated his 87th birthday. David is survived by his sister Inez (Harrell), his son Daniel, daughter Nathalie and grandchildren Anna, Clio, Rowan, and Freya. He is also survived by his former spouse Estela (Martin), mother of his children, and his nieces, nephews, and, sister-in-law.
A celebration of life service will be at 3 p.m., Sunday, November 11, 2018 at Dove Cremations & Funerals, Southwest Chapel, 3700 SW Wanamaker Rd., Topeka, KS 66610 with a reception to follow. To leave a special message for David's family, please click the Share Memories button above.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for David Beale
Allison Viola Loftus
April 22, 2024
Sharing my condolences several years late, but I am sorry for your loss. I am grateful for the time I spent with David when he was close with my mother. He exposed me to so many wonderful things like classical music, dusty old bookstores, and stories of cultural explorations galore when I was a young girl.
Bronwen Stimpert
November 11, 2018
Uncle David was very present in our lives, the family of his sister Louisa Beale Stimpert. We lived in Seattle area briefly when David was a med student there. We were in Topeka 1959-1964 -- when David arrived, he assisted birth of our 5 beagle puppies, helped nurse me when I had pneumonia, and, to our delight, wed Estela.
Over the years, David kept up with our family, visiting us in OH, VA, DC, IL. And joined us when we started having annual reunions at Lake Geneva, WI. I will always remember David's visits to my mother when she was declining with cancer. He was so tuned in to her, and full of happy memories that made her laugh. And helpful to me and my sister Jane, her caretakers. He spoke at my mother's memorial service. And I remember, back at her house when that day was over, I came upon David in my mother's bedroom consoling my dog Chester, who had been lying sadly on the rug where her hospital bed had been.
We will always be grateful that we had David in our lives.
.
Carol Beale
November 8, 2018
David was a great brother-in law. We always enjoyed his yearly visits and the annual Beale reunions. Whenever one of his four siblings had serious medical issues, David always flew across the country to offer comfort and support. He will be missed.
Diane Keppel Moskowitz
November 6, 2018
David was a dear friend to me when I lived in Topeka in the early 80's. He was one of the kindest, wisest, most compassionate people I've ever known. I know he was a much beloved figure in the Topeka community and will be sorely missed. My thoughts are with his family and his many friends.
Michael Kaye
November 6, 2018
When word came that David Beale was no longer among us, my family and I felt a deep loss hard to measure or describe. Dave was our close friend. We will never forget him. Our friendship began in the early 1980's. In 1991, When Susana and I returned to Topeka at dawn on the train from Los Angeles with our newborn son Bondy, Dave, who had already traveled to California to be present at Bondy's birth, was on the platform awaiting us. We were good friends.
Dave loved children, coffee, good food, music, books, current news, and conversation. He tried never to miss a season of the Sunflower Music Festival. He enjoyed opera. He regularly attended Quaker meetings, and, on the verbal side, he and I often passed our free time at the coffee houses where we talked and talked. He was an intellectual omnivore. We invited him to suppers and Sunday breakfast at our house. And more good talk.
For a while, Dave and I studied ancient Greek together at the home of one of my students. I brought along my son Noah. Noah became interested in Greek. Once Dave supported young Noah in a school science project. He gave him a frozen squirrel cadaver which he had been keeping, for some unknown reason, in his home freezer.
Dave was kind and thoughtful: a stoic individual loyal to his friends and generous to his community. After retiring, he practiced at the Marian clinic as a volunteer. Dave had the persona of a psychiatrist, the curiosity of a scientist, and the civility of a statesman. He was an avid listener and he was good humored, tolerant, empathetic, patient, caring, insightful, and always ready to help another person. He was also a realist.
He stayed in touch with and visited his brothers and sisters scattered across the country. He loved his children and his grandchildren and visited them in New York and Pennsylvania whenever he could. They were a delight to him.
Our friend Dave left us as so much better people for having known him. We will miss him.
Martin Klapheke
November 5, 2018
I was very saddened to hear about David's passing. He was always kind and compassionate--so open-minded and accepting of others--and he had a truly remarkable and well-rounded intellect. He was my first "boss" at Menninger (1984), and I learned a great deal from him. David had such a positive influence on so many. I feel blessed to have known him and worked with him.
Bondy Kaye
November 5, 2018
David Beale was a constant in my life ever since I was born. He sat at the front of the Synagogue at my Bar Mitzvah, he presented me with one of my first pets, and he even flew out to California to attend my birth. I never knew him as David; to me he was always Bomba Beale... He was a perennial guest at the family table, kind and knowledgeable, and even though I didn't always understand what he and my father were talking about, I was happy to sit by and listen to them banter the night away.
It wasn't until I had finished college and shared a private dinner with Bomba in 2014 that I really got to know him as an adult. We sat in a corner at Chez Yasu in Topeka for hours as he told me about his time in the military, his work as a psychiatrist, and his travels around the world. He lived an incredible life and encouraged me to take similar leaps of faith with my education, which brought me to Australia only a few years later.
It saddens me deeply to learn of Bomba's passing from half a world away but I am comforted by the many memories I will cherish for the rest of my life. I never really knew either of my biological grandparents, but Bomba always brought a grandfatherly presence to me and my family. He will be sincerely missed.
With love,
Bondy
Dan Kingman
November 4, 2018
I will miss talking with David. He was a kind and thoughtfull person.
Kathryn (Kassy) Zerbe
November 4, 2018
What a remarkable colleague, friend, and all round Renaissance man! One learned from David by just being around him and listening to his thoughtful questions and responses to others. He was Section Chief of SDTU when I came to Menninger as a med student in 1977; his respect and welcoming attitude were extraordinary and launched long-standing friendships. Our world is dimmer with his loss.
Sanford Pomerantz
November 4, 2018
He was a good friend and we shared many of the same interests as psychiatrists. We attended some of the same classes together as senior audit students at Washburn University in Chinese language and in Philosophy. He presented thoughtful essays at our Saturday Night Literary Club.
Martin Maldoando
November 4, 2018
Dr. Beale was my teacher and later on my friend and colleague. He was a very generous teacher, approachable and kind. Also, he was interested in everything that was going on in the world. He was truly a role model and I feel thankful I got to work with him. Martin Maldonado-Duran
Siebolt Frieswyk PhD
November 4, 2018
David was one of the first of many who welcomed my wife and me with our three children to Topeka to join the Menninger community. He remained a prominent and creative member enhancing the impact of the Menninger inpatient units. He was also a long time a member of a Menninger colleagues reading group as a valued contributor despite his increasing medical challenges. His determination to join with others in opening minds to the challenges of life with knowledge, competence, commitment and concern for all shone through once again.
STEPHEN KATZ
November 4, 2018
David was a great mentor and supporter, I learned a lot working for him. But one of the things I remember most was "Beale Bread" as it was dubbed, for his french loaves.
Karl Stukenberg
November 4, 2018
David was a wonderfully warm mentor,supervisor and friend.
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