Obituaries

Services for Bonnie Beardsley, age 94, of Sherman will be held on Saturday, March 18 at 2:00 p.m. at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Sherman, with Father Wesley Evans officiating. There will be a reception following the service at the church. Interment will follow at a later date. The family will greet friends on Friday, March 17 from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Dannel Funeral Home. Bonnie died peacefully at Texoma Healthcare Center in Sherman on Wednesday, March 15. 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 Fort 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 her husband Paul joined the faculty at Austin College. Later, after she completed her bachelor’s degree, previously interrupted, 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 two 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 enabled 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, Paul, 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 affections, 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, Paul, and sons 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. The family wishes to extend heartfelt appreciation to the outstanding care administered to our loved one, by Dr. J. Michael Benson, Home Hospice of Grayson County, and the outstanding staff at Texoma Healthcare Center. We thank them for their devotion and expertise. And, we especially thank God for the gift of Bonnie Beardsley, and the many blessings that she brought to our lives in her 94 years of living. And, although we miss her already, we rejoice at the step she has peacefully taken, from our midst, into the loving arms of God. And, we take comfort in knowing that we will be with her again, and so many other loved ones, when, in God’s wisdom, He brings us to His heavenly banquet, and its infinite joy.