Obituary of Richard Charles Bean
Richard Charles (“Dick”) Bean passed- away peacefully on July 6, 2023, in Edmonds, Washington, just shy of his 90th Birthday.
Dick was born August 5, 1933, in Seattle Washington, to Irving and Elsie Bean. Dick had one sibling, his older brother Jay. During the school year, their home was on Seattle’s Queen Anne Hill, where Dick said “we always had something going on.” The family was active at Bethany Presbyterian Church and involved in many other community groups. Summers and weekends were spent at their cabin on Vashon Island, where Dick developed his life-long love of boating and the water, cruising around the Puget Sound with his best friend Dave Baldwin.
After graduating from Queen Anne High School in 1952, Dick followed his Uncle Theron Bean and big brother Jay to Stanford University. After graduating in 1956, Dick followed his brother Jay into the Navy, where he served on the USS Porterfield for three years, going on three West Pacific cruises. At home port in San Diego, Dick met Barbara Wadlow during a shipmate’s wedding rehearsal, and he quickly realized she was the one he wanted to spend his life with. Some months later, after he returned from a West Pacific Cruise to the Philippines, she accepted his proposal. They were married in Berkeley in 1960 and moved to Seattle.
After Tom was born in 1961, the young family moved from their little apartment on Queen Anne to a small home in Seattle’s Broadview neighborhood, where they welcomed three more children (Greg, Katie and Sara). Dick and Barbara lived in their Broadview home for the next 40 years. Work demands kept Dick at the office and on the road for long hours to provide for the family during these years. When work allowed, he enjoyed boating, golfing, bridge and gourmet dinner parties with Barbara, and on family trips to Vashon Island. On Sundays, the family attended St. Luke’s Episcopal Church; Dick particularly appreciated the preaching of Fathers Dennis Bennett and Dick O’Driscoll, and the whole family appreciated stopping at the local donut shop on the way home to pick out a dozen “to go.”
Dick was a dedicated businessman, proud of his hard work and for “going the extra mile” for employer and clients. On his return to Seattle, Dick first worked for his father at the family business, Bean Electric, then for other electrical and irrigation supply companies in the 60’s and 70’s. In 1981, Dick & Barbara took a risk and started their own irrigation & landscaping supply company, RC Bean Sales. There were some lean years as they worked to get the business off the ground, with the dining room of their Broadview home serving as the first office, but their hard work and dedication paid off. By the end of the 1980’s, the company was prospering and well respected in the industry, and in 1989, the Irrigation Association recognized Dick as “Man of the Year.”
With the business doing well and the kids all grown, in 2001, Dick and Barbara relocated north to Edmonds, to a home overlooking Edmonds Harbor. They loved to host visiting family and friends there, and to watch boats moving up and down the Sound. In 2011, they proudly celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a cruise to Alaska, surrounded by their children & grandchildren.
After Barbara’s passing in 2015, the house in Edmonds became lonely, and Dick moved to Cristwood Apartments in Shoreline. He also sought new friends and fellowship at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Edmonds, and at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Shoreline.
At Cristwood, he became close friends with his neighbor Betty Hedge. Friendship turned to love, and they were married in 2019, honeymooning on a Panama Canal cruise that Dick had dreamed of taking for years. Their time together was sweet, but short, as health issues kept them apart in their final years, and Betty passed away in December 2022.
Dick’s family would like to express their gratitude to the management and staff of Better Living Retreat in Edmonds, Washington for their loving care for Dick over the last three years. The team at Cristwood Park was also a great help to both Dick and Betty.
Dick is predeceased by his wife Barbara Bean, brother Jay Bean, and wife Betty Hedge. He is survived by sons Tom (Coleen) Bean and Greg (Karla) Bean; daughters Katie (Kevin) Kutcel and Sara Bean; grandchildren Megan Bean, Erin Bean (Brent Stevenson), Allison Bean (Joel Parker), Heather Bean, Ken (Lucy) Kutcel, Kurt Kutcel, and Kayla Kutcel; and great-grandchild Lyrica Kutcel.
A celebration of life will be held at Calvin Presbyterian Church, 18826 3rd Ave NW, Shoreline, Washington, at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 16th.
Celebration of Life
