Phelan Beale Jr.

Early life

Beale was born on June 16, 1920, in New York City. He was the middle child of Phelan Beale Sr. and his wife Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (known as "Big Edie"), the daughter of his father's law partner, John Vernou Bouvier Jr. His older sister was socialite Edith Bouvier Beale (nicknamed "Little Edie") and his younger brother was lawyer Bouvier Beale. Beale grew up at Grey Gardens at 3 West End Road in the wealthy Georgica Pond neighborhood in East Hampton on Long Island. Beale was known as "Phe" to his friends and family.

Beale was educated at the Westminster School for Boys in Simsbury, Connecticut.

Career

During World War II, Beale was drafted into the United States Army in 1942 and was sent to Camp Gruber near Braggs, Oklahoma. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations, participating in the battles of Saipan and Okinawa. Beale was wounded in action and received two bronze battle stars and a Purple Heart for his service.

Public service career

Beale was employed with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission in Tulsa and Oklahoma City for 30 years. Following his retirement from the commission, he consulted on unemployment compensation law.

Writing career

Beale was well known as an accomplished speaker and writer. He delivered speeches to numerous organizations on a variety of subjects and wrote magazine and newspaper articles. Throughout his writing career, Beale won hundreds of writing contests. He later appeared in television commercials for MCI Communications.

Personal life

Beale married Rosella Ramsey on December 26, 1942, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He and Rosella met at a United Service Organizations dance in Tulsa in 1942 and eloped two weeks later. They had one daughter, Michelle Beale.

Beale was an American Kennel Club-licensed dog judge and toured the United States judging obedience trials. He enjoyed fishing in Galveston, Texas.

''Grey Gardens''

In 1971, Beale wrote "The Maysley Brothers — is that their name?," an article that appeared in The Capital Times of Madison, Wisconsin. In the article, he deplores the attention accorded his mother and sister at that time: "Such heartbreak and degradation…not the best publicity in the world for the family." He noted that he would see Grey Gardens "out of curiosity." Beale's younger brother Bouvier sent him the documentary's reviews, which Beale expressed made him decidedly unhappy about "those two people (who) made the movie." In the article, Beale reminisced about "the entertainment, the parties" at the Grey Gardens estate and his sister's coming out party at the Ritz-Carlton in New York City. He referred to all these activities as "all that Great Gatsby stuff." He wrote that his father refused his mother alimony and that there was a trust fund but that "trying to keep up that white elephant Grey Gardens is what ruined it."

References

References

1. [[The Oklahoman. (1 July 1993). "Deceased Name: Phelan Beale Jr.". Grey Gardens News.
2. Grey Gardens Online. (2009). "Other Staunch Characters". Grey Gardens Online.
3. (Fall 1994). "Columbia College today".