 Beam married Ann Elena Weatherby, and their daughter is Anong Migwans Beam.Beam died on July 30, 2005, in his home on M'chigeeng Reserve on Manitoulin Island, Ontario from complications due to diabetes.After working at a variety of jobs, from construction work on the Toronto subway, to working as a millwright in Wawa, Ontario, Beam entered Kootenay School of Art (1971).