Claire Leroy Beecher ^{2 3 4 5 6 7 8}

   Another name for Claire was Penny Beecher.

   FamilySearch ID: L61R-P87.

  Burial Notes:

Tombstone: WWII Amm 1 US Navy.

  Noted events in his life were:

1. He was educated at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta, Fulton, GA.

2. Census in 1930 in Grant Twp., Tama, IA. ⁹ The 1930 census recorded Merrill Beecher, 39, living with wife Albina, 32; Wesley, 8; Claire, 7; and Richard, 2. Everyone was born in Iowa except Merrill in Pennsylvania.

3. Census in 1940 in Grant Twp., Tama, IA. ¹⁰ The 1940 census recorded Merrill E. Beecher, 49, living with wife Albina S., 42; Wesley M., truck driver, 18; Claire L., 17; and Richard, 12. Everyone was born in Iowa except Merrill in Pennsylvania.

4. Military in 1942: WWII. Us Navy Aircraft Machinists Mate First Class WWII, Also Crew Of Pby (Patrol Bomber, Flying Boat), Shot Down In Caribbean By German Submarine, 3 On Raft 6 Days Before Rescue.

5. He was described as 5' 7 1/2" 165 lbs. Blue eyes brown hair ruddy complexion on 10 Dec 1946 in Dinsdale, Tama, IA. ¹¹

6. Residence: on 10 Dec 1946 in Dinsdale, Tama, IA. ¹¹

7. Newspaper: The Courier: Marriage of Claire LeRoy Beecher and Josephine Eubanks, 21 Dec 1947, Waterloo, Black Hawk, IA. ¹ Dinsdale -- The home of Mrs. Mark Blanford Eubanks, Rome, Ga., was the scene Thanksgiving afternoon of the marriage of Miss Josephine Eubanks, only daughter of the late Thomas Jefferson and Edna Stinson Eubanks, and Claire LeRoy Beecher, Atlanta, formerly of Dinsdale. The groom is the second son of the Merrill E. Beechers, Dinsdale. Rev. Era P. Eubanks, uncle of the bridge, read the ceremony. Miss Vivian Humphrey, Atlanta, was maid of honor. Mrs. Eubanks gave her niece in marriage. The best man was E. Ray Ritch, Atlanta. Following a holiday visit with the groom's parents at Dinsdale, the couple will be at home at 1971 Cascade road, Atlanta, Ga.

8. Census in 1950 in Des Moines, Polk, IA. ¹² The 1950 census recorded at 1723 East 32nd Street: Claire L. Beecher, industrial engineer for rubber manufacturer, 27, living with wife Josephine, 28, and daughter Sharon L., 1. Claire was born in Iowa, Josephine in Georgia, and Sharon in Iowa.

9. Residence: farmer in 1951 in Jones, Autauga, AL. ²

10. Cause of Death: Died in a fire in his home, 2116 Briarcliff Road, N.E., which is in the portion of Atlanta that extends into DeKalb County. His wife and son died later due to injuries from the fire., 12 Jan 1952, Atlanta, DeKalb, GA.

11. Newspaper: The Courier: C. L. Beecher Is Victim; Wife and Children Hurt, 13 Jan 1952, Waterloo, Black Hawk, IA. ¹³ C. L. BEECHER IS VICTIM, WIFE AND CHILDREN HURT
Had Been Employed at Lockheed Bomber Factory Near Atlanta.
Atlanta, Ga. A former Iowa man was burned to death and his wife and two children badly injured Saturday when fire destroyed their home here. The victim was identified as C. L. Beecher, 28, formerly of Traer, la., who had recently moved here with his family after taking a post with the Lockheed Aircraft Co. at its nearby Marietta, Ga., bomber plant. Mrs. Beecher, 29, and their two children, Sharon Lee, three, and Thomas Merrill, 10 months, were taken to Grady hospital, where attendants said Mrs. Beecher and Thomas were in critical condition. The condition of Sharon Lee was reported as fair. All were suffering from severe burns. Police said the body of Beecher was found in the living room of the house, burned almost beyond recognition. They said Mrs. Beecher kicked a panel out of the front door and brought the two children to safety. Origin of the fire was uncertain, but an ambulance attendant quoted Mrs. Beecher as saying on the way to the hospital that the floor furnace of the house was out of order and the family was using a laundry heater to keep warm. Officials at the Lockheed plant said Beecher went to work there on Dec. 10, 1951. Beecher is the son of M. E. Beecher, station agent at Dinsdale. He was graduated from Georgia Tech here in June, 1948. The Beechers were married here on Thanksgiving day, 1947. They had just moved into the house where the fire occurred.
Industrial Engineer.
Traer, la. (Special) Claire L. Beecher, 28, who lost his life about 5 a. m. Saturday when fire destroyed his home at Atlanta, Ga., was an industrial engineer at the Lockheed plant at nearby Marietta, Ga. He went there in early December from Jones, Ala., where he had been farming less than a year. Prior to that he had been an engineer at the Armstrong Rubber. Co. in Des Moines three years. He was born Feb. 19, 1923, at Dinsdale, the son of Merrill E. and Albina Beecher. He was graduated from Dinsdale high school, attended University of South Carolina, and received a degree in engineering from Georgia Tech in 1948. He served in the navy five years as a machinist in World war II. Mr. Beecher married Miss Josephine Eubanks Nov. 27, 1947, in Georgia. Surviving besides his widow and two children are his parents, at Traer, and two brothers, Wesley and Richard, at Traer. His father commutes to Dinsdale, where he is station agent for the Rock Island railroad. The Traer family left for Georgia Saturday.

12. Newspaper: Atlanta Journal: Mom, Babies in Fire Fail To Improve, 14 Jan 1952, Atlanta, Fulton, GA. ¹⁴ Mom, Babies In Fire Fail To Improve
Mrs. Josephine Beecher who heroically rescued her two children from flames which killed her husband Saturday and destroyed their Briarcliff Rd. home, was listed in critical condition Sunday by Grady Hospital physicians. Her three-year-old daughter, Sharon Lee, who seemed on the road to recovery, was also listed in critical condition. Nine-month-old Thomas Merrill Beecher, who was saved when Mrs. Beecher kicked out a glass door and carried him to safety, aiso was in poor condition. Mrs. Beecher suffered burns over 90 per cent of her body. The Beechers' furnace was out of order and they had been using a laundry heater in the house.

13. Newspaper: Rome News-Tribune: Mrs. Beecher, Victim of Fire, Dies in Atlanta, 15 Jan 1952, Rome, Floyd, GA. ¹⁵ The heroic story of a young mother rescuing her two young children from their blazing Atlanta home early Saturday, ended today in the death of the mother, a former Roman. The father perished in the flames.

Mrs. Josephine Eubanks Beecher died in an Atlanta hospital at 11:30 a. m. today of the severe burns she received in the fire.The condition of nine-months-old Thomas Merrill Beecher, saved when his mother kicked out a glass door, was described as improved today. The three-year-old daughter, Sharon Lee, was in fair condition and apparently she was on the way to recovery.

Claire Leroy Beecher, a Lockheed Aircraft Company engineer, died in the flames which consumed his surburban Atlanta home, 2116 Briarcliff Road, N. E., early Saturday.

Funeral services for the young couple, who both served in the Navy during World War II and who were wed in 1947, will be held at 11:30 a. m. Wednesday at the chapel of H. M. Patterson and Son Funeral Home in Atlanta. The Rev. Earl Strickland will officiate and interment will be in Trayer, Iowa.

Mrs. Beecher is survived, in addition to the children, by three brothers, Thomas J. Eubanks Jr., Asa and Ira Eubanks, all of Rome. She was preceded in death by her parents several years ago.

In addition to the children, Mrs. Beecher is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Beecher, Trayer, Iowa; two brothers, Wesley and Richard Beecher, both of Trayer.

14. Newspaper: Iowa City Press-Citizen: Girl, 3, Left Alone After Fire, Will Come to Iowa, 26 Jan 1952, Iowa City, Johnson, IA. ¹⁶ ATLANTA (AP) -- A three-year-old girl, who still does know that a fire which burned her severely also took the lives of her parents and baby brother, will fly alone today to reach her grandparent' home in Traer, Iowa.

Red-haired, blue-eyed Sharon Lee Beecher will be discharged from a hospital today. She was burned in a fire which destroyed her home and took the lives of her father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Claire Beecher, and her 10-month-old brother. Thomas Merrill Beecher, January 12.

Members of the Shrine mounted patrol of Atlanta's Yaarab temple learned that Sharon had no relatives here. They made arrangements to send her to her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Beecher, in Traer.

Sharon will leave Atlanta at 5:55 p. m. (CST) today in the care of an airlines stewardess. Shriners and their wives will meet her in Chicago, keep her overnight and put her on a westbound plane Sunday morning.

"She's a shy little thing," said Shriner Fred Cannon. "We didn't want to frighten her more so we gave her a fez to play with all day Friday so she would not be afraid when Shriners come out along the route to help her."

Her father was an engineer at Lockheed Aircraft Corp. He was burned to death in the fire. The mother kicked a panel of glass from the front door to carry her children to safety. She died two days later and the baby shortly afterwards.

Claire married Ruby Josephine Eubanks, daughter of Thomas Jefferson Eubanks and Edna Josephine Stinson, on 27 Nov 1947 in Rome, Floyd, GA.^{1 2} (Ruby Josephine Eubanks was born on 13 Feb 1922 in Rome, Floyd, GA,^{17 18} died on 15 Jan 1952 in Atlanta, Fulton, GA ^{15 17 18} and was buried in Reinbeck: Grant Twp. Cemetery, Tama, IA ^{17 18}.)