Joe Beeler.

Joe Beeler. December 25, 1931 - April 26, 2006. On the morning of April 26, 2006, God called another good cowboy home. Joe Beeler succumbed to a heart attack suffered while dragging calves to the branding fire on a ranch near Sedona, Arizona. He was 74 years old. No cowboy could ask for a better way to go than being horseback and with his boots on. Joe Beeler died doing what he loved. Joe Beeler was born on Christmas Day, 1931, to William Robert "Jack" Beeler and Lena Setser Beeler, in Joplin, Missouri. Joe's great grandmother on his father's side was full blood Cherokee. His childhood was straight out of "Tom Sawyer". He learned to fish, hunt, ride and shoot from an early age, and took part in the singing and dancing at seasonal powwows at Quapaw, Oklahoma with his Native American relatives. After high school, Joe was drafted into the Army and served in Korea during the Korean War. After his discharge from the Army, he met and married Sharon McPerson in the summer of 1956. Joe earned a Fine Arts Degree from Kansas State College in Pittsburgh in 1957, and then attended Art Center School in Los Angeles, California. Joe Beeler began his career as an artist in the early 1960's, just as the contemporary western art boom began. He had one man shows at the Gilcrease Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma; the Mountain Historical Society in Helena, Montana; the National Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City; and the C.M. Russell Gallery in Great Falls, Montana. Joe, Sharon, and daughter Tracy moved to Sedona, Arizona in October, 1961. A son, Jody, was born in Arizona. In 1965, Joe was one of the founders of the Cowboy Artists of America, along with George Phippen, Charlie Dye, and John Hampton. This organization would become a major force in contemporary western culture, primarily through its annual exhibition which is currently presented each year at the Phoenix Art Museum. Joe was the last surviving member of the four Cowboy Artists founders. He exemplified everything that the organization stands for and represents. Joe was preceded in death by his wife Sharon in 2004. He is survived by his daughter Tracy; son Jody; daughter in law Monica; grandson John; and brother Ted. He is also survived by a legion of friends and admirers..........other artists, collectors, celebrities, ordinary folks, ad most of all, cowboys. Joe Beeler was a western original. He defined western art and spirit for this generation, just as Charlie Russell did for his own. It was Russell who once said: "...any man that can make a living doing what he likes is lucky, and I'm that. Anytime I cash in now, I win." Joe Beeler won big, and so too did everyone who ever knew him. A funeral service in Joe's honor will be held Thursday, May 4, 2006 at 10:00 am at St. John Vianney Catholich Church, Sedona, Az. The family suggests memorial contributions be made to the Sedona Arts Center in Sedona, Az. Greer's Mortuary of Sedona assisted the family with the arrangements.