Mark Beams

Mark Allan Beams passed away on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, on June 24, 2022. A 1981 graduate of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Dr. Beams was respected by his colleagues as a talented and insightful diagnostician and known to his patients as a careful and detailed listener. He was an internal medicine specialist who spent most of his medical career in southwestern Michigan, including Kalamazoo, South Haven, Allegan, Paw Paw, and Battle Creek. His resume also included practice in Chicago and the US Virgin Islands. He was an emergency room physician for much of his career where he used his skills in compassionate service to humanity at its most difficult moments. Dr. Beams was born in Springfield, Illinois, on July 25, 1954, the third child of Harry E. Beams and Norma J. (Timm) Beams. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1976 with a BS in biology before entering medical school. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Harry E. Beams Jr. He is survived by siblings Dr. David (Roberta) Beams of Indianapolis, Pamela (Michael) Beams Fuller of Hilton Head Island, SC, and Bryan Beams of Otsego, MI. He is also survived by four nieces and two nephews. He leaves behind his long-time companion Sarah Richmond of South Haven, MI, her son Matthew Richmond, and daughter Jennifer Ananbeh. Mark and Sarah shared their lives for thirty years, and Jennifer considered him as a father. Dr. Beams was a scuba diver and had a passion for experiencing the life and culture of the Caribbean. He was well-known for his unflinchingly-logical reasoning, his philosophical thinking, and his force-of-nature sense of humor. He will be keenly missed, and he could never be replaced. Remains were cremated. Plans for a memorial gathering are pending at the present time.