Don Chester Beemer

longtime Bainbridge Island businessman and community member, died March 30 at the age of 80 in his home at Wyatt House Retirement Center.Don is best remembered in the community as the knowledgeable manager of Winslow Hardware from the mid-60s through the mid-1990s when he retired. Through his nearly 60 years as a Bainbridge Island resident, Don was a prominent community figure and participant. He served as a member of various Island organizations, including the Winslow Planning Commission, the Kiwanis Club of Bainbridge, the Bainbridge Library board, Eagle Harbor Congregational Church, Boy Scouts of America - including several years as a merit badge counselor, and with the Bainbridge Juvenile Diversion Board. In addition, Don was very active with the Kitsap County and Bainbridge Democratic Party - often sought by up and coming Democratic candidates looking for Bainbridge support. When U.S. Congressman Norm Dicks first ran for Congress in 1976 (and Bainbridge Island was part of that Congressional District), Dicks personally sought out Don's support. As part of Don's 80th birthday celebration, Dicks thanked Don for his "enormous contributions to our community and to the Democratic Party over the years.""People like you have made it possible for me to serve the citizens of the 6th Congressional District of Washington for the past 33 years."Don was born in Seattle on Oct. 20, 1929, to Chester and Lorraine Beemer, who were residents of Bremerton at the time. Through the years, his family moved several times in Kitsap County so Don attended several elementary schools. He attended and graduated from North Kitsap High School (1947) where he was active in athletics (football and track) and student government (student body vice president his senior year). Don was one of the class speakers at the North Kitsap High graduation services.Following high school, Don served two years in the Army and married Virginia Schultz in 1949. When the Korean War started, Don re-enlisted to serve in the military police in Tacoma.The first installment of what became a family of five boys was born - Michael - in 1950. Between military stints, Don worked for a brief time selling children's books door-to-door, then began working for his uncle, Holger Christensen, at the hardware store he built on Winslow Way - Holger's Hardware (later named Winslow Hardware). After Don's final discharge from the Army, he moved the family back to Bainbridge and reassumed his work at the hardware store. Other than a short time working off the island when Holger sold the store in the mid-1960s, Don was a mainstay and ever-helpful presence at Winslow Hardware - serving as manager of the store from 1967 until his retirement in 1994.While Bainbridge Island slowly grew in population and activity over the years, Don's family also grew with addition of four more sons - Neil , Gary, David, and Gregory . Family activities kept the Beemers busy, and Don remained very active himself. He enjoyed participation with the Bainbridge Sportsman's Club and league bowling in his younger years. He and Virginia loved to play cards with good friends, and enjoyed trips to the Clearwater Casino. Don was a mainstay with the morning coffee groups at Town & Country Market and American Marine Bank - regularly solving the problems of the world with the guys.Don's boisterous support was a fixture in the crowd at Bainbridge High School home football games and home girls' basketball contests - watching his granddaughters play and coach with the Spartans. He was never shy about expressing his opinion regarding officiating!Never one to fully accept the "retirement" label and forever wanting to stay involved, Don served for over a decade on the Kitsap County Board of Equalization.Don loved the outdoors - and enjoyed hiking both in his early family years and in retirement with a few close friends. One of Don's most pleasurable activities was spending time fishing and relaxing at the family cabin on Lake Wooten near Belfair - both with his boys and grandchildren and in times of peaceful solitude. Survivors include his wife of 60 years Virginia, sons Michael (Sandy), Neil (Mindy), Gary (Cyndi), David (Becky) and Gregory (Jackie); 17 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.Family and friends are respectfully invited to attend the memorial service at 2:30 p.m., Saturday, April 10, 2010, at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church. Memorial contributions are suggested to Bainbridge Island Fire Department or Eagle Harbor Congregational Church.