Berna Dean Beasley

Berna Dean Beasley left us peacefully May 31, 2020, joining her family: parents James Albert Johnson and Dot Florence Cook, sisters, Maxine, Delphine, and her brother, Junior (J.P.) just as she did when she was born on November 11, 1930.
Her childhood was spent in Cahone, less a few years when Berna Dean was about 4 and the family moved to Dolores so that her sisters could attend high school. She had memories of helping her Dad with the cows and her Mother in the garden. She had a real fondness for the Galloping Goose, remembering deliveries coming in on it, and treasured a few trips on it, as a teenager, going to Rico to visit her sisters.
After her sisters finished school, the family returned to Cahone where Berna Dean attended the Little Grove School which was close enough for her to walk. Berna Dean moved to Cortez with her parents after 8th grade. Attending that big high school in Cortez was rather scary. When asked her favorite part of school, she replied "the ditching." She and her friends spent a good deal of time at Wheeler's Market.
Berna Dean married Lester Oliver and together they had 5 sons, Eddie, Leslie, Leroy, Lynn and Godwin. They lived on several different properties between Yellow Jacket, Pleasant View, Cahone and Delta raising cattle and farming. Berna Dean was a hard worker and did her best to provide for her sons. She always had a big garden and did lots of canning, there were no worries of going hungry. She was a terrific seamstress and sewed many of her own clothes and all of her boys' shirts. She cleaned homes, cooked, sewed and set her sights on a position at the Union Carbide Mine. She was rather persistent, and was finally hired and became a valued employee.
Berna Dean married Lee Beasley in 1983. She enjoyed traveling with him, spending a lot of time camping, fishing, growing vegetables, flowers and fruit trees. They enjoyed a trip to Alaska, and several years in Tonto Basin, Arizona where she loved meeting new friends, fishing, potlucks, music and a parade for her birthday every year (Veteran's Day).
Berna Dean cherished her grandchildren and really enjoyed babysitting them when they were young. She played in the dirt and caught tadpoles with the best of them. She hated mice and snakes, but lizards were ok. She loved all of her family, enjoying family picnics and camping trips with them. She loved growing all things, including an illegal marijuana plant because it was so pretty, crocheting and sewing. She admired and appreciated her sisters (all 3 of them).
Berna Dean is survived by her sons, Eddie (Glenna), Leroy (Connie), Lynn, all of Pleasant View, and Godwin (Kami) of Yellow Jacket; sister-in-law, Lorraine Hughes; step-children, Laura Manypenny, Verde Roy (Kathy) Beasley, Theresa (David) Garland; 13 grandchildren; 28 great-grandchildren; 1 great-great grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceding her were her parents, James and Dot; sisters, Maxine (Leon) Felkins, Delphine (Bill) Hewitt; brother, Junior (Maxine) Johnson; son, Leslie Oliver; husband, Lee Beasley; daughter-in-law, Ellen Oliver; and step-son, John Beasley.
Graveside services will be held on June 12, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cahone Cemetery.