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Wall, Beatrice Mills
Beatrice Mills Wall, 93, formerly of Grinnell, died Wednesday, May 23, 2012, at the Barthell Eastern Star Home in Decorah. A memorial service will be held in Grinnell, at a later date. The Schluter - Balik Funeral Home in Decorah is in charge of arrangements.
Memorials may be given to the Barthell Eastern Star Home, 911 Ridgewood Dr., Decorah, IA, 52101; or the Joseph Wall Service Award at Grinnell College.
Beatrice (Mills) Wall was born on Nov. 17, 1918, in Des Moines, Iowa, the daughter of Bert and Lora (Ladd) Mills. She graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1936 and received her BA from Grinnell College in 1940 and MA from Boston University in 1941. She worked as editor for Houghton Mifflin in Boston before she married Joseph Frazier Wall (BA, Grinnell College, class of 1941) at Plymouth Congregational Church in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 16, 1944. They lived in Norfolk, Va., and New York City, before returning to Grinnell College in 1947, where Joseph Wall taught history, served as dean of the college and was head of the Rosenfield Program in Public Affairs. He died in 1995.
Bea was active in many civic and social organizations including the Democratic Party, the Iowa Peace Institute and Mid-Iowa Community Action. She volunteered as a tutor for Head Start and the Grinnell public schools. She and Joe hosted foreign students including those who were part of the historic Grinnell College-China exchange program. She loved learning, reading, gardening, playing the piano, traveling the world and visiting with her family and friends.
Bea is survived by her three children, April Ane (Jim) Knutson, Minneapolis, Minn., Joel Wall (Patricia Guhleman), Madison, Wis., and Julie Wall, Decorah; her grandchildren, Kieran (Tricia Ryshkus) Knutson, Katrina Knutson, Nathan Wall, Sara Wall, Kristin (Ben) Schultes and Cara (fiance Cory Felderman) Rude; four great grandchildren, Sasha and Kaelan Knutson, and Prior and Mason Schultes; and one brother, Scott Mills, Belfast, Maine.
Bea was preceded in death by her parents, Bert and Lora Mills; her older sister, Marian; and her husband, Joseph Frazier Wall in 1995.
Published in The Gazette May 25, 2012.
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