A memorial Mass will be at 7 p.m. Friday at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island. Visitation is from 5 p.m. until service time Friday at the church. Inurnment will be at Calvary Cemetery, Rock Island. Memorials may be made to Quad City Youth Build, Alternatives for Older Adults, or St. Ambrose University.
Joseph Frank Beatty was born Nov. 10, 1948, in Rock Island, a son of Russell and Helen Just Beatty. He married Jacqueline Spala on May 15, 1976, in St. Louis.
He graduated from Rock Island High School in 1966 and from St. Ambrose College in 1970. Judge Beatty received his Juris Doctor from St. Louis University Law School in 1973 and did additional course work at the National Judicial College, Reno, Nev. He was licensed to practice law in Missouri in 1974 and in Illinois in 1978. Judge Beatty was elected a judge of the 14th Judicial Circuit Court in 1983 and retired from the bench on Dec. 31, 2007.
Judge Beatty was a member of St. Pius X Catholic Church, Rock Island, a member of the board of Trinity Regional Health System, Alternatives for Older Adults, Quad Cities Youth Build, and Prairie State Legal Services. He also was a member of the Rock Island Kiwanis Club and served 10 years as a coach or assistant coach with A.S.A. Girls Softball. He loved baseball and was a St. Louis Cardinals fan.
Survivors include his daughters (and sons-in-law), Pamela (Richard) Hostetler, Shreveport, La., Helen Elizabeth "Beth" Beatty (Eric Alvine), Chicago, and Emily Beatty, Chicago; grandsons, Drew and Dillon Hostetler; sisters, Sandra (Bill) Coopman, Moline, and Sharon (Charles) Killion, Springfield, Ohio; brother, Daniel (Karen) Beatty, St. Anne, Ill.; and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Online condolences may be left at wheelanpressly.com