Russell O. Beaman

Russell O. Beaman, 95, of Adel, passed away peacefully on Monday, February 2, 2026, at Spurgeon Manor in Dallas Center, Iowa.

Funeral services will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, February 6, 2026, at Caldwell Parrish Funeral Home – Adel Chapel. Burial will follow at Winterset Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the funeral home one hour prior to the service, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be directed to Spurgeon Manor Nursing Facility, Iowa PBS Foundation, or the Adel United Methodist Church. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.caldwellparrish.com.

Russell was born on September 13, 1930, in Madison County, Iowa, the son of Harold and Gladys (Olson) Beaman. He graduated from De Soto High School in 1949, where he met his sweetheart and future wife Ruth Cain. They were married for 72 years.

Russ was an Automotive Technician for many years at the Ford garage in Earlham, IA. Later, he went to electronic school and received his General Radio Telephone Operator's license with Radar endorsement. In 1965, Russ began working for KDPS TV, IEBN and IPTV (now PBS) and continued for over 27 years. He advanced to a Senior Engineer of Communication Technologies/Research with Iowa Public Television. He was involved with two station moves, one from Des Moines Technical School to Bell Avenue and then the final move to Johnston, where it is today. He worked with the Architect, Engineering and Production Department to oversee construction of all aspects of the move and implement daily changes as it was built. Pioneer donated the land to IPTV with certain conditions to be met and have some oversight of the building project during construction.

Russ (K0AON) & Ruth (K0ENA) were both licensed Amateur Radio operators and communicated with many countries around the world. They enjoyed talking to Amateur Radio friends and running phone patches to (MARS) military stations on holidays, etc. so servicemen could contact their families.

Russ retired on December 31, 1992, to help with their business “Beaman's Fabrics” in De Soto, IA until selling the business and building in 2001. They traveled in all 50 states, Canada, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. They also went on a 3-week auto tour to several South American countries with their missionary family, Marabel Kersey, and Frances & Jerry Leonard in 1985. It was a wonderful and unforgettable trip.

Russ was preceded in death by his parents, Harold and Gladys Beaman; wife, Ruth Beaman; daughter, Carol Jean; son, Harold Dean; and sister, Joan Brown.

He is survived by Kathy Clubb now living near Atlanta, GA and Christine Ioli now living in Adel; grandchildren, Brooke, Alyssa, Gary, Nathan, and Nicole; great-grandchildren, Molly, Louise, Elliott, Tristan, Clover, and Abigail; along with other relatives and friends.