He was just as happy eating escargot as eating a bologna sandwich. His friends were his family, and everyone in his family was his best friend. Altruism was John Beilsmith’s forte.
Beilsmith, 73, died Sept. 10 at his home in Dunwoody. A memorial mass was held for him on Sept. 15 at All Saints Catholic Church in Dunwoody. His daughter, Meg Collins, delivered his eulogy.
“He was a calm, steady presence in our lives,” Collins said. “A truly independent spirit.” Beilsmith’s other daughter, Michelle Robertson, said her father was “one of the most kind, salt-of-the-earth, people that you would ever meet.”
Beilsmith grew up in Slater, Mo., and paid his way through college by working at a grocery store. He was the first in his family to go to college. Upon graduating from the University of Missouri, he joined the Navy and served during the Vietnam War. “That war experience really opened his eyes to the world,” Collins said. It was that, among other experiences, that brought out his salt-of-the-earth personality.
“We still could never get him to try sushi,” she said.
Robertson said her father’s acceptance into Officer Candidate School was very significant to him. He told her, “These were 33 of the most talented group of guys I’ve ever worked or associated with.” Not everyone completed the program, but Beilsmith did. He found himself ranked in the bottom third of participants when he completed the training but said he felt “very proud” at being ranked at the bottom — of the top — of the barrel.
After settling down in Atlanta, Beilsmith joined the Atlanta Vietnam Veteran’s Business Association. Given his experience as a Certified Public Accountant, he held the role of treasurer.
He worked as a CPA for 45 years and opened his own practice, Navigator CPA Group, in 2004. In her eulogy, Collins said the only thing she ever heard her father say he regretted in life was “not going out on his own sooner.”
Beilsmith was a “consummate professional,” committed to making sure his clients were taken care of. “So many people work to live, and he really lived to work,” Robertson said. “He loved his job. He loved the people he associated with so much. It gave him so much joy and pleasure.”
Dudley King, one of Beilsmith’s oldest clients, wrote an email to Beilsmith just before his passing: “I’ll never forget the time the IRS audited me and a woman came down from Charleston and wanted to see/audit most of my personal and company records. Luckily, you were there and when all was said and done they sent me a refund and I’ve never been audited since.”
Even in the end, Beilsmith was meticulous about ensuring his clients were taken care of, and that the transition to a new company was smooth. He even insisting on leaving his bed to double-check all the paperwork.
In an email sent to his clients after his demise, Beilsmith wrote that they “have been like family” to him. “Thank you again for the many great years you have allowed me to be your accountant. They have been rewarding in so many ways, but mostly in the pleasure I’ve had in working with each and every one of you.”
He was also ready to get to work at a moment’s notice for his loved ones. When a hurricane threatened to damage Collins’ house, she remembers her father telling her on the phone, “Honey, don’t worry! I’ve got my work boots and my tool kit and I’m coming down tomorrow.”
His daughters said Beilsmith “always did his own thing.” And he passed down lessons of self-sufficiency, teaching them how to read a map, drive a stick shift, and sail a boat. “He wanted us to be self-sufficient in our lives,” she said. Now, both the daughters are entrepreneurs as well.
“I think he was proud of what he did in the end.” Collins added. She remembers being “tucked in really tightly” as a child and quizzed on geography by her father. She still remembers all 50 state capitals. “Just the other day in his hospital bed, I was quizzing him.” He remembered and smiled.
Besides his daughters, Beilsmith is survived by his wife of 45 years, Mary Lucie Mapp Beilsmith; four grandchildren; brother, K. Patrick Beilsmith; and five sisters.
