Mary Beal, company director

Mary Beal, who has died at 76, was a director of the East Yorkshire housebuilder that bears her name but had also, in extraordinary career, been a dancer, fashion model and sportswoman.
Mary BealMary Beal
Mary Beal

A well-known figure in Holderness, where she farmed with her husband, John, she was also a vice president of Hull RUFC and a major sponsor of the club.

The area had been her lifelong home, save for her early dancing career in Rome, Florence, Monte Carlo and Lisbon.

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Back home, she became a part-time fashion model and worked for more than 40 years for the House of Mirelle and other international brands.

She married John in 1970 and was a director of Beal Securities and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire Developments Ltd, the family investment company. She was also a director of the firm which farmed the land she and John owned at Danthorpe.

Her son, Richard, is chairman and managing director of Beal Homes, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Outside business, she developed her passion for rugby having followed John when he played in the 1960s. She supported Richard when he played at school and then for Hull RUFC, where he was captain for three seasons.

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More recently, she saw the third generation of Beals, her grandson, Charlie, play his first game for Hymers School in Hull.

An enthusiastic sportsperson in her own right, she was an accomplished water skier and a member of the Yorkshire Water Ski Club, which she represented in competition.

She was also a snow skier, horse rider and seafarer, and was often to be seen crewing the family boats on summers cruising in Majorca.