Yvonne Merle (Petitt) Beasley joined her beloved parents in the sweet Hereafter on October 28, 2020. The only child of Inez Rebecca (Nugen, whose brothers kept Nugent as surname) and Stuart Taylor Petitt, Yvonne was born in Omak, WA, on August 27, 1933. Her father was a pipefitter and plumber, whose skills were much in demand on the Coulee Dam project. Stuart's role in placing the over-large bronze bust of FDR was a source of special pride for Yvonne. Her mother took in ironing and served diners at a local café before working as a secretary. The bronze medallion Inez received upon retiring from the Department of the Interior was among Yvonne's most treasured mementos. There was one other member of that Petitt household, Mary Genevieve, Stuart's youngest sibling. Mary was just shy of nine years older than Yvonne and, technically, her aunt. But, in their minds and hearts, they were the closest of sisters. Mary's children, blood-line cousins to Yvonne, knew her as their aunt. Yvonne and Mary lived in the same neighborhood, if not next door, the better part of their adult lives.
Some months after graduating from Coulee Dam High School in 1951, Yvonne married classmate Teddy Beasley. Ronald Eugene was born in late July 1952, and Jeannette Yvonne was born in mid-September 1953. The young family moved to Pullman, WA, in 1956, where Ted pursued several lines of work before settling on a career in real estate. Yvonne very much wanted to be a full-time mother, so she tended to others' children as well as her own at home. After Ron and Jeannette both were attending school, Yvonne secured employment with WSU first working at Holland Library, then as secretary to a department chair in the College of Agriculture. After the divorce in 1975, Yvonne moved to the Seattle area. She soon found a job and bought a home in Burien, down the street from Mary and her husband Harry. When Mary and Harry down-sized to a retirement community in Auburn, she followed suit and moved in next door to them.
With their encouragement, Yvonne took up different hobbies such as ceramics, collecting "old people" figurines, reading murder mysteries, and golf. For thirty years, the "sisters" enjoyed each other's company whenever they felt like it, while ever being respectful of the other's privacy. In late November 2006, Yvonne with Mary as her "co-pilot" drove across the state to Pullman, where her children had built a new home just for her. She was thrilled on so many counts, not least of which was the fact it had baby-blue siding with colonial blue trim and a mottled navy blue roof. No secret to anyone who knew her, Yvonne was a big fan of the color blue. While making the new house her comfortable home, she indulged more of her preferences. Garden gnomes especially, but also statuary and pink flamingoes, were carefully arranged in both her front and back yards. Large once-hanging baskets of petunias and begonias were placed in stands on both her front and back porches. And, she could hardly wait each spring to put her favorite hues of Martha Washington geraniums in special pots.
Yvonne loved her two children deeply and extended her boundless affection to their spouses. She could be "like a bear with a sore tail" if either of her children suffered a slight of any kind. She spoiled her little dogs, often laughingly noting she had created her own "little monsters." She was gracious and welcoming with family, friends, and acquaintances alike. She expressed her most negative opinions, even her gagging repulsion at the thought of eating a particular fruit, with an understated "I don't care for it." She laughed easily and full-heartedly clearly delighted by the moment or the memory. Yvonne was a child of, but not so much an adult from, the Great Depression. She wasted little, but was quick to toss things for which she didn't see an immediate use. She made the most of what she had, yet managed to keep "in the wings" extras of household items she specially liked. She said she felt "like a green horn" in the kitchen, all the while creating lavish meals in both abundant food and lovely presentation for her family and guests. As the rest of us pushed away from the table with groans of having over-eaten, Yvonne would quote her father: "I've had an elegant sufficiency."
Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents, their siblings, and her two grandsons Justin Beasley and Eric Yockey.
She is survived by son Ron Beasley (and his ex-wife Dretha Phillips), daughter Jeannette and her husband Ron Yockey, granddaughter Elisha Beasley and her children, Justin's daughter, and Eric's daughter and son. Yvonne also would claim Mary's children as her survivors: Connie Jean (Wayne Buren), Bob Luce (Debbie), and Vicki Luce.
In recent years, vascular dementia increasingly claimed the Yvonne we knew and cherished. She was among those who tested positive for COVID-19 at the memory care facility. The following month, Yvonne was diagnosed as being in a deep coma caused by a massive, paralyzing stroke and passed away within 48 hours.
Her cremains will be interred near her parents' graves sometime next year. We look forward to swapping the sweet and not-so-sweet stories of Yvonne's life when those of us who knew and now miss her can come together in loving remembrance.
Published in Spokesman-Review on Dec. 20, 2020.
Some months after graduating from Coulee Dam High School in 1951, Yvonne married classmate Teddy Beasley. Ronald Eugene was born in late July 1952, and Jeannette Yvonne was born in mid-September 1953. The young family moved to Pullman, WA, in 1956, where Ted pursued several lines of work before settling on a career in real estate. Yvonne very much wanted to be a full-time mother, so she tended to others' children as well as her own at home. After Ron and Jeannette both were attending school, Yvonne secured employment with WSU first working at Holland Library, then as secretary to a department chair in the College of Agriculture. After the divorce in 1975, Yvonne moved to the Seattle area. She soon found a job and bought a home in Burien, down the street from Mary and her husband Harry. When Mary and Harry down-sized to a retirement community in Auburn, she followed suit and moved in next door to them.
With their encouragement, Yvonne took up different hobbies such as ceramics, collecting "old people" figurines, reading murder mysteries, and golf. For thirty years, the "sisters" enjoyed each other's company whenever they felt like it, while ever being respectful of the other's privacy. In late November 2006, Yvonne with Mary as her "co-pilot" drove across the state to Pullman, where her children had built a new home just for her. She was thrilled on so many counts, not least of which was the fact it had baby-blue siding with colonial blue trim and a mottled navy blue roof. No secret to anyone who knew her, Yvonne was a big fan of the color blue. While making the new house her comfortable home, she indulged more of her preferences. Garden gnomes especially, but also statuary and pink flamingoes, were carefully arranged in both her front and back yards. Large once-hanging baskets of petunias and begonias were placed in stands on both her front and back porches. And, she could hardly wait each spring to put her favorite hues of Martha Washington geraniums in special pots.
Yvonne loved her two children deeply and extended her boundless affection to their spouses. She could be "like a bear with a sore tail" if either of her children suffered a slight of any kind. She spoiled her little dogs, often laughingly noting she had created her own "little monsters." She was gracious and welcoming with family, friends, and acquaintances alike. She expressed her most negative opinions, even her gagging repulsion at the thought of eating a particular fruit, with an understated "I don't care for it." She laughed easily and full-heartedly clearly delighted by the moment or the memory. Yvonne was a child of, but not so much an adult from, the Great Depression. She wasted little, but was quick to toss things for which she didn't see an immediate use. She made the most of what she had, yet managed to keep "in the wings" extras of household items she specially liked. She said she felt "like a green horn" in the kitchen, all the while creating lavish meals in both abundant food and lovely presentation for her family and guests. As the rest of us pushed away from the table with groans of having over-eaten, Yvonne would quote her father: "I've had an elegant sufficiency."
Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents, their siblings, and her two grandsons Justin Beasley and Eric Yockey.
She is survived by son Ron Beasley (and his ex-wife Dretha Phillips), daughter Jeannette and her husband Ron Yockey, granddaughter Elisha Beasley and her children, Justin's daughter, and Eric's daughter and son. Yvonne also would claim Mary's children as her survivors: Connie Jean (Wayne Buren), Bob Luce (Debbie), and Vicki Luce.
In recent years, vascular dementia increasingly claimed the Yvonne we knew and cherished. She was among those who tested positive for COVID-19 at the memory care facility. The following month, Yvonne was diagnosed as being in a deep coma caused by a massive, paralyzing stroke and passed away within 48 hours.
Her cremains will be interred near her parents' graves sometime next year. We look forward to swapping the sweet and not-so-sweet stories of Yvonne's life when those of us who knew and now miss her can come together in loving remembrance.
Published in Spokesman-Review on Dec. 20, 2020.
Yvonne Merle (Petitt) Beasley joined her beloved parents in the sweet Hereafter on October 28, 2020. The only child of Inez Rebecca (Nugen, whose brothers kept Nugent as surname) and Stuart Taylor Petitt, Yvonne was born in Omak, WA, on August 27, 1933. Her father was a pipefitter and plumber, whose skills were much in demand on the Coulee Dam project. Stuart's role in placing the over-large bronze bust of FDR was a source of special pride for Yvonne. Her mother took in ironing and served diners at a local café before working as a secretary. The bronze medallion Inez received upon retiring from the Department of the Interior was among Yvonne's most treasured mementos. There was one other member of that Petitt household, Mary Genevieve, Stuart's youngest sibling. Mary was just shy of nine years older than Yvonne and, technically, her aunt. But, in their minds and hearts, they were the closest of sisters. Mary's children, blood-line cousins to Yvonne, knew her as their aunt. Yvonne and Mary lived in the same neighborhood, if not next door, the better part of their adult lives.
Some months after graduating from Coulee Dam High School in 1951, Yvonne married classmate Teddy Beasley. Ronald Eugene was born in late July 1952, and Jeannette Yvonne was born in mid-September 1953. The young family moved to Pullman, WA, in 1956, where Ted pursued several lines of work before settling on a career in real estate. Yvonne very much wanted to be a full-time mother, so she tended to others' children as well as her own at home. After Ron and Jeannette both were attending school, Yvonne secured employment with WSU first working at Holland Library, then as secretary to a department chair in the College of Agriculture. After the divorce in 1975, Yvonne moved to the Seattle area. She soon found a job and bought a home in Burien, down the street from Mary and her husband Harry. When Mary and Harry down-sized to a retirement community in Auburn, she followed suit and moved in next door to them.
With their encouragement, Yvonne took up different hobbies such as ceramics, collecting "old people" figurines, reading murder mysteries, and golf. For thirty years, the "sisters" enjoyed each other's company whenever they felt like it, while ever being respectful of the other's privacy. In late November 2006, Yvonne with Mary as her "co-pilot" drove across the state to Pullman, where her children had built a new home just for her. She was thrilled on so many counts, not least of which was the fact it had baby-blue siding with colonial blue trim and a mottled navy blue roof. No secret to anyone who knew her, Yvonne was a big fan of the color blue. While making the new house her comfortable home, she indulged more of her preferences. Garden gnomes especially, but also statuary and pink flamingoes, were carefully arranged in both her front and back yards. Large once-hanging baskets of petunias and begonias were placed in stands on both her front and back porches. And, she could hardly wait each spring to put her favorite hues of Martha Washington geraniums in special pots.
Yvonne loved her two children deeply and extended her boundless affection to their spouses. She could be "like a bear with a sore tail" if either of her children suffered a slight of any kind. She spoiled her little dogs, often laughingly noting she had created her own "little monsters." She was gracious and welcoming with family, friends, and acquaintances alike. She expressed her most negative opinions, even her gagging repulsion at the thought of eating a particular fruit, with an understated "I don't care for it." She laughed easily and full-heartedly clearly delighted by the moment or the memory. Yvonne was a child of, but not so much an adult from, the Great Depression. She wasted little, but was quick to toss things for which she didn't see an immediate use. She made the most of what she had, yet managed to keep "in the wings" extras of household items she specially liked. She said she felt "like a green horn" in the kitchen, all the while creating lavish meals in both abundant food and lovely presentation for her family and guests. As the rest of us pushed away from the table with groans of having over-eaten, Yvonne would quote her father: "I've had an elegant sufficiency."
Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents, their siblings, and her two grandsons Justin Beasley and Eric Yockey.
She is survived by son Ron Beasley (and his ex-wife Dretha Phillips), daughter Jeannette and her husband Ron Yockey, granddaughter Elisha Beasley and her children, Justin's daughter, and Eric's daughter and son. Yvonne also would claim Mary's children as her survivors: Connie Jean (Wayne Buren), Bob Luce (Debbie), and Vicki Luce.
In recent years, vascular dementia increasingly claimed the Yvonne we knew and cherished. She was among those who tested positive for COVID-19 at the memory care facility. The following month, Yvonne was diagnosed as being in a deep coma caused by a massive, paralyzing stroke and passed away within 48 hours.
Her cremains will be interred near her parents' graves sometime next year. We look forward to swapping the sweet and not-so-sweet stories of Yvonne's life when those of us who knew and now miss her can come together in loving remembrance.
Published in Spokesman-Review on Dec. 20, 2020.
Some months after graduating from Coulee Dam High School in 1951, Yvonne married classmate Teddy Beasley. Ronald Eugene was born in late July 1952, and Jeannette Yvonne was born in mid-September 1953. The young family moved to Pullman, WA, in 1956, where Ted pursued several lines of work before settling on a career in real estate. Yvonne very much wanted to be a full-time mother, so she tended to others' children as well as her own at home. After Ron and Jeannette both were attending school, Yvonne secured employment with WSU first working at Holland Library, then as secretary to a department chair in the College of Agriculture. After the divorce in 1975, Yvonne moved to the Seattle area. She soon found a job and bought a home in Burien, down the street from Mary and her husband Harry. When Mary and Harry down-sized to a retirement community in Auburn, she followed suit and moved in next door to them.
With their encouragement, Yvonne took up different hobbies such as ceramics, collecting "old people" figurines, reading murder mysteries, and golf. For thirty years, the "sisters" enjoyed each other's company whenever they felt like it, while ever being respectful of the other's privacy. In late November 2006, Yvonne with Mary as her "co-pilot" drove across the state to Pullman, where her children had built a new home just for her. She was thrilled on so many counts, not least of which was the fact it had baby-blue siding with colonial blue trim and a mottled navy blue roof. No secret to anyone who knew her, Yvonne was a big fan of the color blue. While making the new house her comfortable home, she indulged more of her preferences. Garden gnomes especially, but also statuary and pink flamingoes, were carefully arranged in both her front and back yards. Large once-hanging baskets of petunias and begonias were placed in stands on both her front and back porches. And, she could hardly wait each spring to put her favorite hues of Martha Washington geraniums in special pots.
Yvonne loved her two children deeply and extended her boundless affection to their spouses. She could be "like a bear with a sore tail" if either of her children suffered a slight of any kind. She spoiled her little dogs, often laughingly noting she had created her own "little monsters." She was gracious and welcoming with family, friends, and acquaintances alike. She expressed her most negative opinions, even her gagging repulsion at the thought of eating a particular fruit, with an understated "I don't care for it." She laughed easily and full-heartedly clearly delighted by the moment or the memory. Yvonne was a child of, but not so much an adult from, the Great Depression. She wasted little, but was quick to toss things for which she didn't see an immediate use. She made the most of what she had, yet managed to keep "in the wings" extras of household items she specially liked. She said she felt "like a green horn" in the kitchen, all the while creating lavish meals in both abundant food and lovely presentation for her family and guests. As the rest of us pushed away from the table with groans of having over-eaten, Yvonne would quote her father: "I've had an elegant sufficiency."
Yvonne was preceded in death by her parents, their siblings, and her two grandsons Justin Beasley and Eric Yockey.
She is survived by son Ron Beasley (and his ex-wife Dretha Phillips), daughter Jeannette and her husband Ron Yockey, granddaughter Elisha Beasley and her children, Justin's daughter, and Eric's daughter and son. Yvonne also would claim Mary's children as her survivors: Connie Jean (Wayne Buren), Bob Luce (Debbie), and Vicki Luce.
In recent years, vascular dementia increasingly claimed the Yvonne we knew and cherished. She was among those who tested positive for COVID-19 at the memory care facility. The following month, Yvonne was diagnosed as being in a deep coma caused by a massive, paralyzing stroke and passed away within 48 hours.
Her cremains will be interred near her parents' graves sometime next year. We look forward to swapping the sweet and not-so-sweet stories of Yvonne's life when those of us who knew and now miss her can come together in loving remembrance.
Published in Spokesman-Review on Dec. 20, 2020.
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