Mr. Harold Kenneth Beadle, age 93, of Hiawassee passed away on November 2nd, 2013. Harold was and always will be: Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather; and a Hero to his family.

Harold was born on July 7th, 1920 and grew up in Michigan, one of 12 brothers and sisters. His childhood was spent farming and fishing with his father. Harold fought bravely for our country in WWII in the Army Infantry. He was wounded and nearly died in combat trying to save another man. He came back home from the war to Michigan with a shattered body working his way back into shape by buying a dump truck and hauling any load he could find, often loading the truck with a shovel. He sometimes used a 2x4 to work the clutch because his missing left leg was raw and bloody inside its crudely constructed prosthesis of that time.

At that point in his life, he played as hard as he worked. He wasn’t proud of the fact that he lived life recklessly and un-responsibly, thinking that after the war he had nothing left to lose. Nothing that is, until a friend of his asked him to drive a truck down South as a favor, which he did. While in Florida, they stayed at some old stone cabins in a very small town called Zephyrhills, where he met a girl named Betty. His life changed… really began… that day; and he felt each day got better after that. Their first child was a daughter that seemed to learn to talk even before she could walk (or grow hair for that matter). She was the apple of his eye. A few years later their first son was born and they thought that with a girl and a boy, their family was complete… and for many years it was, until unexpectedly another boy came along and they all wondered how they got along without him. Little did they know at that point that he would become their major caregiver during both of their senior lives.

Harold ran his hauling business, managed poultry farms, and finally his tree moving business in the same small Florida town. He knew almost everyone in town, and everyone seemed to know and respect him. Harold often said, “your reputation doesn’t cost you anything, but it’s the most valuable thing you’ve got; it takes a lifetime to earn it and a split second to lose it, so don’t”. Word's we should all strive to live by. He was a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus, President of the Florida Nursery & Growers Association, but more importantly to him, a wonderful husband, father and grandfather. In 1976, he and Betty started their love affair with the Georgia Mountains, where they lived happily, where the family came together, and where Harold will be laid to rest.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, November 5, 2013 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church of Blairsville. Interment will follow at approximately 12:15 pm at Boyd's Chapel Cemetery in Hiawassee where military honors will be presented by The North Georgia Honor Guard and The U.S Army Honor Guard.