Obituary: Beu, Douglas
Age 64
Though he was diagnosed with cancer only a week prior to passing, he had silently and courageously dealt with the effects of the disease for months.
Doug was born in Southbridge, MA., on October 6, 1949 to George and Rita Beu.
As the Eagle Scout son of a skilled carpenter, he enjoyed the outdoors and working with his hands from a young age.
Early pictures prove he was a late bloomer, but he managed to overcome his size and the occasional heavy-handed nun at Catholic school.
After graduating from St. Michael’s College in Vermont with a thereafter useless degree in French Literature, his thirst for adventure was quenched with stops of various lengths in Europe, Colorado, San Francisco, Honolulu, and many bike stops in between.
He held a variety of temporary jobs that allowed him to work with his hands or outdoors, including geological drilling, rickshaw driver, and construction.
He was a hard worker - in Hawaii he held 3 full-time jobs at once, being paid to sleep in his car as a “night watchman” for a construction site.
Expo ‘74 lured him to Spokane for a visit, and soon after he decided it was time to stop roaming, settle down, and start a family.
In 1982 he married Lynn, the love of his life, and they were married for 32 years (10 of them good, according to one of many jokes he told too often and found too funny).
After a successful career in Real Estate and child-rearing, he retired in 2009 to a fulfilling life of being Papa, traveling, social hours at the gym, thermostat wrangling, and caring for family and friends.
Whether biking, hiking, or running, he was tirelessly active and would brag about his sub-49 minute Bloomsday to anyone who would listen.
He loved the outdoors, sports, socializing, a good and/or cheap buffet, betting the horses, giving advice (solicited or not), and above all else, spending time with his family.
As his condition worsened, his chief concern was leaving his four beloved grandchildren without their Papa.
His premature passing is felt by all who were lucky enough to know him, and at least a couple who never got the chance.
Doug is survived by wife Lynn; daughter, Jessie Horner (Danny); sons, Brian (Whitney) and Devin Beu; grandchildren, Lizzy, Annabelle, and Joel Horner and George Beu; brother, Karl Beu (Patsy); sister, Patricia Beu; and favorite aunt, April Reich.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or Sierra Club.