Bruce W. Beaton

Bruce W. Beaton, 78 of 2537 Rhinestone Drive, Winterville, North Carolina 28590 died on July 1, 2024, at ECU Hospital. Born in Arlington, Virginia, on May 3, 1946, he was the son of N. Starr and Jean B. Beaton. He graduated as salutatorian, from Franklin High School in Franklin, Virginia in 1964. He attended the University of Virginia through 1966 and then transferred and graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1968, with a B.S. in Business Administration. He was a member of the CHI PSI fraternity at both Universities. He served in the North Carolina National Guard for six years.
He worked at both Starr Beaton Chevrolet and Don Keating Chevrolet in Kinston, N.C., and then for 35 years at Gate City Motor Company and Gate City Lincoln Mercury in Greensboro, N.C. where he was the General Manager. He was later a consultant to Modern Infiniti Dealerships in North Carolina and then retired.
Mr. Beaton was a past member of the International Motor Sports Association, and he was a 50-year member of the Sports Car Club of America. He was a past member of the Kinston Jaycees. He also was a past member of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society in Greensboro and the Suncoast Blues Society in Tampa, Florida. He served on both the Guilford County Automotive Industry Council and the Guilford Technical Community College/Ford Asset Advisory Board in Greensboro.
Mr. Beaton is survived by his wife, Annette Newby Beaton, son John Edward Hawley, all of Greenville, N.C. Daughter Joanne Kraft and husband Matthew Kraft. Brother Norman S. Beaton and Ann Laurie Beaton of Cary, N.C.; grandchildren Miller Kraft, Chase Hawley, and Christopher Hawley; great grandchildren Isaac Hawley, Maverick Hawley and Dexter Hawley; and niece Alexandra Beaton.