 West Hill Cemetery Sherman, Texas  Paul Beardsley 1921 - 1973 Bonnie Beardsley 1922 - 2017 Michael Beardsley 1945 - 1993 Mark Beardsley 1948 - no date Chris Beardsley 1960 - 1984   Paul W. Beardsley 21 August 1921 - 4 July 1973 1st Lieutenant US Army  Services for Bonnie Beardsley, 94, of Sherman were held Saturday afternoon, March 18, 2017 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Sherman with Father Wesley Evans officiating. Interment followed at a later date. Bonnie died peacefully at Texoma Healthcare Center in Sherman on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. She was born Bonnie Jean Smith in Oklahoma City, where she was a faithful member of the First Baptist Church. She graduated from Northeast High School, where she excelled in dramatic arts, and she attended Oklahoma Baptist University on a full scholarship in that field. Although she excelled in her studies, and her involvement in drama, she interrupted that work in 1942 to become a war bride. In June of that year she married the love of her life, and former college classmate, Paul Beardsley, while he was stationed as a young lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne at Ft. Benning, Georgia. In 1945, she gave birth to their first son, Michael, and then her son, Mark, in 1948. In 1950 she and her family moved to Sherman, where he husband joined the faculty at Austin College. Later, after she completed her Bachelor's degree, she also joined the Austin College faculty, where together, she and her husband pioneered the college's speech and drama program and developed its Arena Theatre. For many years, she and her husband moved and delighted local audiences with outstanding college productions, while touching the lives of countless students, with whom they had the privilege of working. Along the way, they also performed a variety of duo-dramatic presentations for churches, civic groups and supper clubs in Sherman and the Dallas area. In 1960 she gave birth to their third son, Chris. When her husband died, unexpectedly, in 1973, she continued working in the same department that the 2 had lovingly fostered. For the next several years, she continued to be a dedicated teacher, acting coach, and mentor to her talented students. In 1981 she became the college's first Artist in Residence, a position she held until she retired in 1984. This new opportunity enabed her to develop a longstanding interest she had had in writing and she became a talented playwright. In 1971 her one-act play "They Came" premiered at the Cubiculo Theatre, an off-Broadway theatre in New York, where it served as a companion piece to "The Friday Bench," written by award winning playwright, Mario Fratte. Later, her one-act play "Terminal" premiered at Finley Theatre in Sherman, and was later performed in a one-act play festival at the University of Bristol in Bristol, England. These works were followed by "Characters Inside of Me," a collection of character sketches that she wrote and subsequently performed at Finley Theatre and Austin College. Later still, she was finishing a new play. "Sadie's Child," and was working on her first attempt at a full-length novel, when her health began to decline, and she stepped away from creative pursuits. In the span of her working years, from the earliest collaboration with her husband, to her last creative efforts, she leaves an enduring legacy of achievement, derived from her great respect for the arts, and the many ways they may enrich lives. Accordingly, she gladly shared her affection, energies, and considerable talents with her beloved family, her treasured students, talented colleagues, and all other parties involved in her artistic pursuits, audiences included. She was preceded in death by her husband; son, Michael and Chris. She is survived by son, Mark, of Sherman; and grandchildren, Anna and Michael, Jr. of Chicago; and Bryn of San Francisco. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Austin College, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church and Grand Avenue Presbyterian Church, all of Sherman, Texas. West Hill Cemetery Elaine Nall Bay ©2013 If you find any of Grayson County TXGenWeb links inoperable, please send me a message. |