Charles Edward Beyl

15 May 1916 – 18 July 1985
Painter. Soldier. Son. A quiet life traced in service, solitude, and strokes of color.

Originally published on March 18, 2017
Refreshed with care and curiosity

This post has been carefully revisited with a steadier pen, quieter questions, and a more profound sense of time. Charles Edward Beyl’s story hasn’t changed, but perhaps we’re better prepared to sit with it now.

What once read like a timeline now echoes like a life.

We may not have all the pieces, but sometimes the silences speak loudest — and Bones listens for those too.

Early Life

Born at 1:50 a.m. on May 15, 1916, in Columbus, Indiana, Charles entered the world as the third child of Edward Beyl and Edna Applegate. His father, a 29-year-old wood assembler, and his mother, a housekeeper of 21, were already raising two daughters when Charles arrived.

By 1920, the family had settled on Prospect Street in Indianapolis, and little Charles was just three years and eight months old. His father worked as a foreman in a bakery, and the home buzzed with the energy of four young children.

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Coming of Age

As the Great Depression shadowed the nation, Charles grew up in a bustling household at 1329 East Street. By 1930, he was 13 and living with his three siblings, his parents doing their best to weather the times. A few years later, in 1935, he was 19 and still living under his parents’ roof, bouncing between addresses on Parkway Avenue and South East Street.

Though we don’t have records of what Charles painted or how he saw the world, we know that his hands were eventually used with brushes — not just on canvas or walls but in service of his country.

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Military

Charles first enlisted in the U.S. National Guard on January 17, 1941. At 24 years old, he was a lean young man — 133 pounds and just under 5’9″ — working as an errand boy and still single, without dependents. But that service ended quickly; he was discharged just two days later.

Undeterred, he returned to military service in May 1942 and was assigned to Camp Wallace, Texas. There, a pre-existing disability brought his time in uniform to an early end. His discharge in September 1942 marked the end of his military chapter — short in time but meaningful in intention.

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A Life of Labor and Solitude

By the 1940s and 1950s, Charles had struck out on his own.

He moved from New Jersey Street to Union Street in Indianapolis. As a self-employed painter, he worked with his hands, crafting beauty in small spaces.

There are gaps in his record — no known children, no wedding photos, no postcards or portraits. Just addresses. City directories. Census ink. And eventually, a quiet hospital room.

He was divorced at the time of his passing.

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Final Days

Charles died at 2:05 a.m. on July 18, 1985, at the Roudebush VA Medical Center in Indianapolis, after battling metastatic lung cancer. He was 69 years old. No autopsy was performed. His last known address was Ridgepointe Court, and his death certificate notes that he had been self-employed.

But it was at Garland Brook Cemetery in Columbus — the town of his birth — that Charles finally came to rest. His gravestone marks not only his life, but also his Army service during World War II.

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Legacy

Something is haunting about Charles’s story — so little remains, yet what does is enough to trace a life lived with independence and grit. He didn’t leave behind stories we know, but he did leave behind proof of effort, service, and quiet resilience.

If you knew Charles or are connected to him in any way, I would love to hear from you. Every memory matters — even the small ones. Especially the small ones.

Drop a comment below if you’re part of this chapter.

Thanks for stopping by,
~Kris