Roll Call Tribute

(Published in) The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle (on) July 9, 2014

Beamer, James

James M. Beamer

October 25, 1946 – June 29, 2014

James “Jim” Michael Beamer, 67, of Bryan passed away at his home on Sunday, June 29, 2014. A Celebration of Life is scheduled for 10:00 AM, Thursday, July 10, 2014 at Memorial Funeral Chapel in College Station with Larry Johnson, Pastor of the New Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Bryan, Texas officiating. Private Interment will take place at a later date.

Jim was born October 25th, 1946 in Ottumwa, Iowa to Dr. Russell James Beamer and Grace M. Guyett Beamer. He moved to College Station with his family at the age of 5, and attended A&M Consolidated Schools. He also attended Allen Academy for two years before enrolling at Texas A&M University, receiving his Bachelor of Sociology Degree from Texas A&M in 1969.

Jim began his criminal justice career in 1968 as a correctional officer with the Texas Department of Corrections. In June 1969, while attending Texas A&M University, Jim joined the College Station Police Department, where he held positions of increasing responsibilities. He was hired as a police officer and at the time he left in October 1979 he held the dual positions of Captain of Special Services and Supervisor of the College Station Municipal Court.

In October 1979 Jim joined the Brazos County criminal justice system, initially as an Adult Probation Officer and later accepted the position of Chief Deputy with the Brazos County Sheriff's Office under Sheriff Bobby Yeager. He continued to serve in this role under Sheriff Ronnie Miller from 1985 until December 1992.

n January 1993, Jim joined the Judicial District Community Supervision and Corrections Department for Walker, Grimes, and Madison Counties as an Adult Probation Officer and was stationed in Grimes County. In August 1993, he was promoted to Supervisor of the Grimes County Office. He faithfully served in that capacity until 2002.

In November 2002, Jim eventually returned to the city where his career path started, accepting the responsibilities as a bailiff for the City of College Station Municipal Court. He served this court until his retirement in 2009.

Jim's passion was riding his Harley-Davidson Motorcycles.

Jim was preceded in death by his father Russell "Rusty" in 1960, and his mother Grace in 2001. He is survived by his former wife Anne Huebner Beamer of Navasota; his sister Nancy Beamer Willerson of Houston; George Huebner III of College Station; Meg Huebner Woody and husband Allen of Dallas; Nancy Huebner Brown and husband Rob of College Station; numerous nieces and nephews; and a host of family and friends in law enforcement and in the community.

Special thanks to Pat and Jim Booth and the rest of our Independence Harley Davidson family.

In lieu of flowers, please consider fulfilling Jim’s final wishes by bestowing an offering to any of the following agencies in his memory: The Twin City Mission in Bryan; Hospice Brazos Valley in Bryan; True Blue Animal Rescue in Brenham; or the Brazos County Precinct 1 Volunteer Fire Department.
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(Published in) The (Bryan-College Station) Eagle (on) July 9, 2014

Memorial to honor life, service of longtime Brazos Valley law enforcement officer Jim Beamer

Eagle staff report | Posted: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 12:00 am

Longtime Brazos Valley law enforcement officer James M. "Jim" Beamer will be remembered as a faithful public servant who loved his job, according to those close to the 67-year-old who died more than a week ago at his home.

A celebration of life for Beamer is scheduled for 10 a.m. Thursday at Memorial Funeral Home Chapel in College Station. A private burial will follow later.

A resident of College Station since he was 5, Beamer joined his hometown police force while attending Texas A&M, where he graduated in 1969 with a sociology degree. He opted to continue his law enforcement career, attaining the rank of captain before leaving in late 1978 for a brief stint as an adult probation officer.

Dan Beto, former chief over that department in Brazos County, hired him for the job.

"He had been a police officer for more than 10 years, so he wanted to try something new, different," Beto recalled. "But he wasn't away from it for long. Within several months, a new sheriff was asking him to run the entire sheriff's department."

When Bobby Yeager took over as sheriff in 1978, Beamer became his chief deputy, a position he held even when the next sheriff -- Ronnie Miller -- took office. Once Miller was ousted and the new regime hired an almost completely different administration, Beto lured Beamer back to being an adult probation officer based out of Grimes County. He remained in that post for a decade, but within a year was promoted to supervisor.

"Jim Beamer will be remembered for a life characterized by service. He was a truly dedicated, faithful public servant who enjoyed what he did wherever he was," Beto said. "There aren't many people like him. He handled investigations, personnel issues, changing technology -- any and all of it. When it came down to it, Jim dealt with the day-to-day operations and things got done."

Retirement didn't suit him, so he eventually returned to courts working as a bailiff for the city of College Station until 2009.

A kind heart and tenacious work ethic are descriptions that first came to mind when Carolyn Ruffino was asked to discuss her former colleague. She's a former county court-at-law and district judge in Brazos County who was voted into office in the early '80s.

"He was dependable, loyal and good at his job," she said. "If there was a safety or security issue, he just always took care of it. He took good care of us in the courthouse. He was the one we called."

Like many who knew Beamer, Ruffino emphasized the overwhelming respect she had for him. She was far from alone in her praise.

Beamer hired Chris Kirk as a night shift jailer in 1980 when Kirk was a graduate student at Texas A&M and needed money to augment his income to support his family.

At the time, he was one of nine jail officers, and when the place was busy they'd have about 30 inmates behind bars. Today, there are 165 paid staffers working in the jail with the inmate population being roughly 650, and Kirk is the sheriff.

"I would not be where I am today without the help of Jim Beamer," Kirk said, adding that his mentor arranged for the department to sponsor his attendance at the TEEX Law Enforcement Academy. Once he graduated, Beamer hired him as a patrol officer, and within two years Kirk was promoted to criminal investigations -- a slot he stayed in until he was elected sheriff in 1997.

"Jim Beamer was a good man and a good peace officer," Kirk said. "He served the Sheriff's Office admirably for 13 years and one month. During that time, he was my supervisor, a mentor and a friend. Jim was the consummate chief deputy. He was fiercely loyal to the sheriffs that he served. He knew how to relate to those who worked with him and he took his job of serving the citizens of Brazos County very seriously.

"I and many other Sheriff's Office and courthouse employees have some very fond memories of Jim and the time that we served together."