By Andrew Meacham, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, December 11, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — Ronald A. Beaton Jr. came from a well-known family with 19th-century roots in St. Petersburg.
The names of his grandfather Boxford Chandler "Chan" Neeld and that of another relative are memorialized in Pioneer Park.
His mother, Martha Neeld Beaton, was a Junior League volunteer of the year referenced in frequent newspaper articles with a tone of familiarity.
His father, Ronald A. "Red" Beaton Sr., slummed famously with other up-and-coming bachelors in what they called the "Zylch house," on his way to a successful stockbroking career.
Ronald A. Beaton Jr. sold printing supplies and was either working on some project at home or helping neighbors with theirs.
He was proud of his family and happy to grow old in the hometown they helped establish. He missed the way it used to be when he was young, when 22nd Avenue ...