Dale Beacock, a longtime musician and founder of Beacock Music, died late Thursday morning after being struck by a log truck’s trailer while riding his bicycle on Highway 101 north of Garibaldi, Ore.
About 11:50 a.m., Beacock, 81, was riding south near Milepost 54, when his bike swerved into the southbound lane and was struck by the trailer of the loaded log truck as it passed him, according to a bulletin from the Oregon State Police.
It wasn’t known why he swerved, the bulletin said.
Beacock was pronounced dead at the scene.
He’d been riding with his son,
Russ Beacock, 47, who was not reported injured.
The elder Beacock was an experienced bicyclist and wore a helmet, the bulletin said.
Russ Beacock and his sister, Gayle Beacock, are co-owners of the Beacock Music store in east Vancouver, a family member said.
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The log truck driver, Michael J. Hall, 65, of Bay City, Ore., stayed at the scene and was not reported injured.
The accident is under investigation by officers including an OSP collision reconstructionist.
Dale Beacock was featured in a Jan. 1, 2010, Bits ‘n’ Pieces story in The Columbian.
The article detailed how Beacock had played with a band on New Year’s Eve almost every year since he was in high school; the only exceptions were in the 1950s, when he was serving in the U.S. Navy.
In recent years, he’d been performing with a band at Mount Hood’s Timberline Lodge in Oregon. In 2010, he agreed to be part of New Year’s Eve festivities at Vancouver’s Luepke Center. He was director of the New Horizons jazz band, which performed there.
Music had long been center stage in Beacock’s life.
He played clarinet and saxophone with several bands that had regular gigs in Oregon. That’s in addition to weekly practices and special performances. Founded in 1976, his music store provided lessons to many Clark County musicians.
“It’s keeping me going and I find it exhilarating,” Beacock said in the 2010 article.
John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.
