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Bean was a [[United States Army]] soldier with service in [[South Korea]] and [[Vietnam]] and a pilot decorated for heroism. He died of renal failure at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport. He had undergone two [[kidney]] transplants and suffered from steadily declining health since 2001.​<ref name=findagrave/>

Bean was a [[United States Army]] soldier with service in [[South Korea]] and [[Vietnam]] and a pilot decorated for heroism. He died of renal failure at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport. He had undergone two [[kidney]] transplants and suffered from steadily declining health since 2001.​<ref name=findagrave/>

==Humor amid personal difficulties==​

==Humor amid personal difficulties==

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​Bean's friends said that he never lost his sense of humor. Besides the kidney transplants, Bean contracted [[pneumonia]], which required hospitalization in 2003, back surgeries, a [[helicopter]] crash in 1973 that led to his health problems, and the strains of politics.<ref name=findagrave/> He outlived two of his three children.​

​Bean's friends said that he never lost his sense of humor. Besides the kidney transplants, Bean contracted [[pneumonia]], which required hospitalization in 2003, back surgeries, a [[helicopter]] crash in 1973 that led to his health problems, and the strains of politics.<ref name=findagrave/> He outlived two of his three children.​

"Some guys are funny-funny; to me, Ron was the kind of guy who was funny with a very dry sense of humor," said former Democratic state Senator [[Don Kelly]] of [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]: "I can't ever recall seeing him mad; I've seen him aggravated, but never mad. He was just ... a great guy."​

"Some guys are funny-funny; to me, Ron was the kind of guy who was funny with a very dry sense of humor," said former Democratic state Senator [[Don Kelly]] of [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]]: "I can't ever recall seeing him mad; I've seen him aggravated, but never mad. He was just ... a great guy."​

Bean and Gregory Tarver, another state senator from Shreveport, met while serving on the Caddo Parish Police Jury (equivalent of county commission in other states). Though Bean was a white Republican and Tarver an [[African-American]] Democrat, the two found that they could work together and became close friends.

Bean and Gregory Tarver, another state senator from Shreveport, met while serving on the Caddo Parish Police Jury (equivalent of county commission in other states). Though Bean was a white Republican and Tarver is an [[African-American]] Democrat, the two found that they could work together and became close friends.

"I used to drive to his house late at night and we'd go places together; we just became big buddies. ... I could tell you a lot of funny things Ron did and I did, but none of them for print. He was a character," said Tarver.​ Bean often told Tarver, whose family is in the funeral home business, that he'd be "the first white man you'll ever have to bury."​ "That was our standing joke," Tarver said, laughing loudly. "I told him that my family had [then] been in the business for 105 years, and we ain't buried a white man yet. We'd joke about that all the time."​

"I used to drive to his house late at night and we'd go places together; we just became big buddies. ... I could tell you a lot of funny things Ron did and I did, but none of them for print. He was a character," said Tarver.​ Bean often told Tarver, whose family is in the funeral home business, that he'd be "the first white man you'll ever have to bury."​ Tarver added, "That was our standing joke. … I told him that my family had [then] been in the business for 105 years, and we ain't [sic] buried a white man yet. We'd joke about that all the time."​

Kelly said much of the talk among legislators at the funeral only days earlier for state Senator John Joseph Hainkel, Jr. (1938-2005) of [[New Orleans]] was of their friend Bean. Hines, who succeeded Hainkel as Senate President, said that it had "been a tough, tough few days we've had here."​

Kelly said much of the talk among legislators at the funeral only days earlier for state Senator John Joseph Hainkel, Jr. (1938-2005) of [[New Orleans]] was of their friend Bean. Hines, who succeeded Hainkel as Senate President, said that it had "been a tough, tough few days we've had here."​

Bean's Caddo Parish colleague, former Republican state Senator [[Max T. Malone]] said onn learning of Bean's death: We lost a great individual today. He had a courageous battle with his medical problems that resulted from his military service. … His agenda was to bring the most he could to Shreveport and Bossier City -- that was his main agenda."<ref name=ksla>{{cite web|url=https://www.ksla.com/story/3232008/former-louisiana-state-senator-ron-bean-dies/|title=Former Louisiana State Senator Ron Bean Dies|publisher=KSLA-TV ([[CBS]] in [[Shreveport]])|date=April 19, 2005|accessdate=January 1, 2020}}</ref>

Bean's Caddo Parish colleague, former Republican state Senator [[Max T. Malone]] said onn learning of Bean's death: We lost a great individual today. He had a courageous battle with his medical problems that resulted from his military service. … His agenda was to bring the most he could to Shreveport and Bossier City -- that was his main agenda."<ref name=ksla>{{cite web|url=https://www.ksla.com/story/3232008/former-louisiana-state-senator-ron-bean-dies/|title=Former Louisiana State Senator Ron Bean Dies|publisher=KSLA-TV ([[CBS]] in [[Shreveport]])|date=April 19, 2005|accessdate=January 1, 2020}}</ref>

=="The ultimate in courage"==​

=="The ultimate in courage==​

In 2003, the Louisiana Senate gave the ailing Bean a standing ovation after his colleague Robert Jocelyn Barham of Oak Ridge in Morehouse Parish recalled the circumstances that led to Bean's health problems.​

In 2003, the Louisiana Senate gave the ailing Bean a standing ovation after his colleague Robert Jocelyn Barham of Oak Ridge in Morehouse Parish recalled the circumstances that led to Bean's health problems.​