Doris Ann Beasley's Obituary
BEASLEY, ANN, Wife of the late William Howard Beasley, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Whittle Music Company and Beasley Enterprises, died from a heart problem at Presbyterian Hospital on Wednesday, April 16, 2008. She was 89. Doris Ann Waddell Beasley was born on January 27, 1919, to William Arthur and Ella Waddell in Ceres (Bland County), Virginia. The Virginia native graduated from Radford University in Radford, Virginia in 1939, majoring in home economics. She taught high school home economics for two years in Mars Hill, North Carolina, and then was recruited to be a home demonstration agent for Surrey County in Surrey, Virginia, where she met William Howard Beasley, Jr., of Dallas, who was stationed at Norfolk Navy Base during World War II. They were married in Surrey, Virginia, on June 7, 1943. They later lived in Ventura, California for one year during World War II, where he was stationed and she worked in a navy office. Mr. & Mrs. Beasley returned to Dallas in 1945 where she became a mother, housewife, and civic and school volunteer for the first 15 years of her married life. Ann subsequently attended SMU to earn a Texas Teacher’s Certificate and began teaching part time kindergarten at the Park Cities YMCA, becoming one of the first teachers. At that point she became interested in childhood education and earned a Masters at Texas Women’s University in Childhood Education. Mrs. Beasley was recruited by the H.P. school district to implement the kindergarten program at Hyer Elementary School in 1970. She subsequently earned 24 hours on her Doctorate, retiring from Hyer in 1990. Ann was a member of Highland Park Presbyterian Church for 63 years, a member of the Dallas Woman’s Club since 1948, a member of the Marianne Scruggs Garden Club, and a former member of the Junior Group of the Dallas Garden Club, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, the Dallas Opera, the Sewing Club, and the Thesaurus Book Club. She was also a member of the Highland Park District Retired Teachers’ Association and the City Club. Mrs. Beasley endowed the Ann Beasley and the Sharman Beasley Vesecky Paralegal Co-op Scholarship at El Centro College in 2007. She was predeceased by her husband of 58 years, William Howard Beasley, Jr., in 2001 and her only son, William Howard Beasley, III in 1990. Ann Beasley is survived by her daughters Mary Sharman Beasley Vesecky and her husband Fen Vesecky; and Ann Elizabeth Chisholm Beasley Stevenson and her husband Bill Stevenson of Houston; her daughter-in-law Jeanie Childers Beasley, two grandsons’William Howard Beasley, IV and his wife Keisha of Norman Oklahoma, and Scott Childers Beasley; two granddaughters’Elizabeth Anne Beasley Raynor and her husband Brett, and Mary Paige Chisholm Stevenson of Houston, and a great-granddaughter Maya Margaret Beasley of Norman, Oklahoma. She is also survived by a niece Brenda Waddell Tate of Bland County, Virginia, three nephews’Larry Waddell of Norfolk, Virginia, Lanny Waddell of Bland County, Virginia, and Eric Beasley Nye of Covington, Louisiana. A special thanks to her warm and giving caregivers: Carla Standmire, Carol Naab, and Evelyn Coats. There will be a private burial at Restland Memorial Cemetery. A memorial service will be held in the sanctuary of Highland Park Presbyterian Church at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 18, 2008 with Dr. Ron Scates and Reverend Russell Jonas officiating. In lieu of flowers, if you wish to make a memorial, they may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Focus on the Family (Colorado Springs, CO) or charity of your choice.
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