Beardall honored for service to Santaquin

A man who was well-known to the entire Santaquin community for his service and love was honored at the 2016 Orchard Days Little Buck-A-Roo Rodeo on July 30 when a plaque with his name and picture was installed at the Santaquin Rodeo Arena.

Dale Todd Beardall passed away Oct. 7, 2015, at his home in Santaquin at the age of 53. Beardall was born with a condition called cranial stenosis, which causes the bones in a newborn’s skull to fuse together. Normally, the skull has areas of flexible cartilage and tissue which accommodate the baby’s brain growth; if the bones fuse together, it can cause problems such as an abnormally shaped head or pressure on the brain.

By the time he was 12 years old, Beardall had undergone 15 major operations on his head. One of those operations left him severely paralyzed on his left side. Mentally, he reached the functionality of about a 10-year-old.

These challenges, however, did not stop Beardall from becoming a force for good in his hometown. “He was probably the epitome of a good citizen of Santaquin,” said Roger Kaufman, Beardall’s brother and guardian after their parents passed away. “Give, give, give, and all he expected was maybe a pat on the back, maybe a cup of coffee and a hug.”

Beardall wasn’t able to drive, so his parents got him a four-wheeler, and he put it to frequent use around town. Kaufman said his brother would do daily rounds to everyone he knew and would often stop to help mow a lawn or fix something that had broken. Eventually, he began building patio benches out of 2x4s and his creations became so popular that his work grew into a business known as Dale’s Benches.

One of Beardall’s greatest loves was Santaquin’s Little Buck-A-Roo Rodeo. Farrel Craig, who with the Santaquin Roping Club started the Little Buck-A-Roo, needed help getting donations from local merchants for rodeo prizes and thought Beardall was a good candidate for the job. “I thought, well, you know, Dale Beardall won’t take no for an answer,” Farrel said. “He’ll come away with money or prizes.”

And indeed he did. Kaufman said his brother would go from business to business all around Santaquin and Payson asking for donations. Beardall’s success grew as the years went by until at one point, he was raising as much as $3,000 in prizes. “You knew if he came in and you didn’t give him something, you can count on him being back every day,” Kaufman said.

Soliciting donations wasn’t his only contribution to the rodeo. Beardall also worked behind the scenes at the event, helping herd animals into the chutes and presenting the flag while riding his four-wheeler during the Little Buck-A-Roo Rodeo’s grand entry.

“He was involved with the Little Buck-A-Roo for 31 years. You’d have thought he owned that Little Buck-A-Roo Rodeo,” Kaufman said.

When Beardall died, Kaufman asked the community for donations to place a memorial to his brother at the Santaquin Rodeo Arena. The donations he received were used to fund the memorial.

The plaque honoring Beardall was mounted onto a large rock placed outside the arena on the facility’s east side. The memorial was dedicated during this year’s Little Buck-A-Roo Rodeo, which is part of the Santaquin Orchard Days celebration.

Kaufman would like to specifically thank Wade Eva, the Santaquin Roping Club and Santaquin City for all the kindness they bestowed upon Dale during his life.