Timothy Joseph Beaton

Timothy Joseph Beaton, 77, passed away suddenly at his home in Crossville, TN on May 19, 2026.

Tim was born on February 17, 1949, at St. Ansgar’s Hospital in Moorhead, MN, to Janet and Francis Beaton. He was baptized at St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church and was confirmed at Nativity Catholic Church, both of Fargo, ND.

Tim was a storyteller. He loved recounting the shenanigans that he and older brother Mike shared with their Beaton and Beckmann cousins, summer days spent playing outdoors with neighborhood kids, and racing home from Fargo’s Clara Barton Elementary and Agassiz Junior High to nab his mom’s freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies before playing pick-up hockey on neighborhood rinks well into the dark winter evenings. He helped build the Beaton family cabin on Lake Melissa in Detroit Lakes, MN, where in the 1960s he and Mike taught countless friends and friends-of-friends how to water ski, the lakeside sound of the Beach Boys playing over transistor radio.

Tim graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1967 as president of the school’s last graduating class, a distinction he wore with pride. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science Education from North Dakota State University in 1971, where he was a proud member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, and went on to earn his Juris Doctorate from the University of North Dakota Law School in 1974.

Tim met Joan Tool in the fall of their freshman year at NDSU; they were married on August 17, 1971, at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Fargo. They welcomed daughter Heather in 1976, and son Casey in 1980.

Tim built a distinguished 21-year career in trust administration and management, leading the trust departments of banks in Grand Forks, ND; Fond du Lac, WI; Sheboygan, WI; Moorhead, and Fargo, maintaining membership in the Bar Associations of each state and county in which he worked. In 1996, Tim and Joan became small business owners, operating Northport True Value Hardware in Fargo. He devoted the last decade of his career in service of the community in which he was born and raised, as Executive Director of the Fargo Moorhead Area Foundation, where he oversaw its substantial growth and the purchase of a permanent headquarters overlooking Island Park Pool, where he swam as a boy. In recognition of his service and legacy, the Tim Beaton Cass Clay Community Land Trust Legacy Fund has been named in his honor.

Tim is survived by his wife of 55 years, Joan (Tool) Beaton; daughter Heather Beaton (Mark Speltz) of Eden Prairie, MN; son Casey (Deveny) Beaton of Prior Lake, MN; grandchildren Nora, Liam, and Ewan Hart, and Wesley, Oliver, and Thatcher Beaton; brother Michael F. (Carol) Beaton; nephews and niece Mike (Betsy) Beaton; Jill (David) Suppes; all of Fargo, ND; and Jon (Kari) Beaton of Eden Prairie, MN; and numerous beloved cousins, family, and friends. He is preceded in death by parents Janet D. (Beckmann) and Francis J. Beaton; and his beloved childhood cocker spaniel, Penny.

A private Rite of Committal will be held on Thursday, June 11, 2026, at St. Joseph’s Garden, St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, Crossville, TN. A service in Fargo-Moorhead is being planned for the fall; details will be shared at a later date.

The family encourages memorial donations to the Tim Beaton Cass Clay Community Land Trust Legacy Fund, online at https://cassclayclt.org/give/ or by mail to 109 ½ Broadway #203, Fargo, ND 58102.