John Bee

"I'm fully aware my life has been spent. My get up and go has got up and went. But I have to stop and think with a grin, of all the great places my get up has been."
John Bee, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away peacefully on October 24th, 2024. In heaven there was a great reunion with John and those that preceded him in Death including his mother who died when he was nine, seven of his eight brothers and sisters as well as his beloved grandson Brian Sherwood.
John was born in Lorenzo Idaho on January 12, 1932 to Stearns Philander Bee and Helena Ann Flamm. He lived a life full of service, always putting others before himself. He served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints from 1951 to 1953 where he would have experiences that would guide him through his entire life. It was his mission stories that he would recount to all of his children and grandchildren many times through the years, never letting them forget the importance of his spiritually defining moments and the strength of his testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Toward the end of his mission, he met the love of his life, Nellie Lucille Ball whom he would marry on December 31st, 1953, sharing his life with her for nearly 72 years. They had 4 children; Ruth Estelle, John Edwin, Paul Randall and Denice Lynette.
John served in the Army during the Korean War where he was a cook and a radio operator. After they married, John and Nell moved to California where John was the President of the Northern California Marshall's Association. From 1969 until 1984 John was the Chief of Police in the small town of Belgrade Montana. As the Chief of Police, John often brought people from all walks of life, from jail, from the streets or just those who were alone to his house for dinner. He also was known for saving a man from a house fire who at one point had tried to kill him.
After retiring as Chief of Police he moved to Utah to live closer to his daughters and grandsons. He served as the superintendent of the Charleston Apartments in Salt Lake City for nearly 20 years. He always made sure that the residents (many of them elderly) were taken care of and had a nice place to live. Along with taking care of their apartment maintenance he often shared his dinner, his time and his loving kind words.
John wanted it to be said that he lived by the mottos: "Is it kind? Is it honest? Is it true?" and "Do the right thing, then do the next right thing"
Survived by his loving wife Nellie Lucille Bee; children Ruth Bee, John Bee (Shannon), Randy Bee (Kaori) and Denice Lagalle (Larry); grandson Richard Sherwood (Sandra) and 3 great grandchildren Ian, Isabella and Eliana; and his sister Janet Bee.