ネブラスカ大学リンカーン校
Born in Stapleton, Nebraska, Beam received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1951, and was a captain in the United States Army during the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law in 1965, and was thereafter in private practice in Lincoln, Nebraska until 1982.