Ivan William (Bill) Beckwith

Ivan William (Bill) Beckwith, 92, passed away November 24, 2016. He was born October 31, 1924 in East St. Louis, Illinois, the son of the late Bertha E. Beckwith. Bill was married to his wife of 70 years, Kay Beckwith.

Bill enlisted in the Army in May of 1943 where he served in the Asiatic Pacific Theatre Campaign. In February of 1945, he was active in the liberation on the Japanese internment camp of Santo Tomas in Manilla, Philippine Islands. This is where he met the love of his life, Katy Taylor. It was love at first sight and within days they were engaged. After Bill was discharged in January of 1946, they were married on February 22, 1946 in Alameda, CA.

Bill and Katy settled in East St. Louis, Illinois and in 1947, Bill began his career with Shell Oil Company. While employed by Shell Oil, they moved to Decatur, Illinois to Oak Forest, Illinois and finally to Carmel, Indiana before Bill retired in April of 1983.

Bill and Kay (her abbreviated name) wintered in Arizona for 31 years before returning to Carmel as permanent residents of Summer Trace in October of 2014.
He was a member of the American Legion, St. Maria Goretti Catholic Church, and the Mohawk Hills Golf Club Senior Men’s League.

On October 31, 2015, his 91st birthday, he was fortunate to be able to travel to Washington D. C. with the Indy Honor Flight Organization to visit war memorials and specifically the WWII Memorial. The welcome and love from the volunteers at the airports and upon returning home made this one of the best days of his life.

He is survived by his loving wife, Kay Beckwith; his children, William Alan Beckwith and Kathleen Cook; his grandchildren, Jeffrey Alan (Destiny) Cook and Christopher William (Kathryn) Cook; and his great-grandson, Jeffrey Alan Cook, Junior. Bill was preceded in passing by his mother, Bertha E. Beckwith.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Indy Honor Flight, PO Box 10, Plainfield, IN 46168.

Visitation will be from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Thursday, December 1, 2016, at Flanner and Buchanan – Carmel, 325 East Carmel Drive, Carmel, Indiana 46032. Service will be held immediately following the visitation.