Bruce Beal

Norwich - A life-long resident of Southeastern Connecticut, Major (ret) Bruce Talcott Beal died on Sunday, March 30. He was 76 years old.

Maj. Beal was born in Boston in 1931 and was raised at the family home in Talcottville. He summered at the family home at Eastern Point for much of his youth and graduated from Rockville High School in 1949. In 1954, he graduated from Harvard College where he rowed on the crew team and played the bass drum in the college band.

Immediately upon graduating from Harvard, Maj. Beal embarked on an impressive career as a U.S. Army officer that spanned 5 decades. His expertise was in missile systems and as a young lieutenant he was selected to work in the early stages of the US Missile Program under Werner Von Braun at Redstone Arsenal. He later taught at the OCS in Germany while serving with the NATO forces in the mid-1960s. He served in Korea and Vietnam, where he was the historian for the Americal Division at Chu Lai with Maj. Colin Powell. Maj. Beal continued to play an active role as a master sergeant in the Army Reserves until his retirement from the U.S. Army in 1991.

His professional life was highlighted by his tenure at Airwick Chemical and General Dynamics Electric Boat Division. In civilian life, he had been very active with the Retired Officers Association, Navy League, National Guard, and the Masons. He was a life-long member and past president of the Shenecossett Beach Club in Groton. His passion for history and genealogy lead him to his acquired memberships in Sons of Cincinatus, Founders and Patriots of America, Sons of the American Revolution, and the Society of Mayflower descendants.

In recent years, he and his wife, Jackie, resided in Norwich and Elkton, Fla. They greatly enjoyed traveling and had cruised Alaska, Asia, Europe, and South America together.

In addition to his wife Jackie (Mower) Beal, he is survived by his daughters, Libby Beal Flanagan and her husband, Tom, of Waterford, Katie Beal Bradford, of Mystic, and Hannah Beal Will and his two granddaughters Maggie McDonnell Will, and Emma Talcott Will, of Quincy, Mass. He is also survived by his brother, Stuart Beal, of Sarasota, Fla.

The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Apr. 3, 2008 at the Byles- Groton Memorial Home, 310 Thames St. Visiting hours will be held on Wednesday evening from 5 to 7 p.m. at the funeral home.

Burial with full military honors will be held Thursday, May 29, at 1 p.m. at the Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers donations are requested to be made to a charity of your choice.

Please visit www.byles.com to view the family's online registry.