Royce M Beall

The son of the late Robbie and Willie Beall, Beall was born June 26, 1926, in Henderson. Raised in Nacogdoches, he graduated from the local high school then attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He was a prominent Texas businessman, serving as head of the Beall's retail chain, which includes more than 150 stores across the state as well as in Arkansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Beall began his retailing career as a shoe salesman in the family's Lufkin store, and was promoted to assistant manager, then manager, of the Nacogdoches store in 1953. In 1959, he moved to the Beall’s general offices in Jacksonville, working as a children’s wear buyer. When he assumed leadership of the chain in 1977, Beall's boasted 81 stores; however, by the time Beall retired in 1989, the number of stores had nearly doubled.