Frances S. (Shook) Beasley

Frances S. Beasley, a former Yorker and resident of Cockeysville, Maryland, died Monday afternoon, May 26, at Broadmead, a retirement community in suburban Baltimore. She was the daughter of the late George Miller Shook and Agnes (Alven) Shook of Rutherford, New Jersey. Widow of Carl H. Beasley, Jr., Mrs. Beasley was born in Weehawken, New Jersey, on November 21, 1921. She lived in Chicago and Minneapolis as a young girl and returned to New Jersey to complete her high school education. She worked briefly at Altman’s Department store in New York City and attended the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising. She later worked at Marshall Field’s Department Store in Chicago and took classes at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1944, Mrs. Beasley joined the American Red Cross and was sent overseas to run a club for American soldiers in southern England. It was there that she met her future husband, an American Army captain, who was stationed nearby, recuperating from wounds suffered in combat in France. They married in Cheadle, England, on November 1, 1945. Returning home after the war, the couple settled in York, Pennsylvania, where they raised three children. Mrs. Beasley was active in volunteer work, serving on several committees of the Junior Service League of York. She was instrumental in bringing to the public’s attention the historical value of the Gates House and Golden Plough Tavern, which were later restored and opened to the community. The York County Commissioners honored these lifetime achievements at a special ceremony in 2010. In 1961, Mrs. Beasley began a twenty-two year long career with the YWCA of York, serving as program director and public relations officer. She coordinated the activities of County Y-Teens and oversaw the opening of two coffee houses, “The Web,” and the “Back Door.” She and her husband Carl took several groups of teens to England and the Continent, biking and pony-trekking. Retiring in 1983, the couple moved to St. Michael’s, Maryland, where Mrs. Beasley continued her art work and volunteering at the Maritime Museum there. She won several prizes for her pastels at Chesapeake College. The couple also had a winter home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Upon her husband’s death in 1989, Mrs. Beasley remained in Maryland for several years before deciding to return to York in 1996. In 2001 she moved to Broadmead where she continued her art work and edited the residents’ newsletter, “The Voice.” She is survived by three children, The Rev. Carl H. Beasley III, of Colora, Maryland; Diana A. Beasley, of York; and G. Scott Beasley, and his wife Peggy, of Frederick, Maryland. She had three grandchildren, Jonathan, Adam, and Christopher Beasley, and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service will be scheduled at a date and location to be announced. Arrangements were entrusted to Heffner Funeral Chapel & Crematory, Inc., 1551 Kenneth Rd, York. Memorials contributions may be sent to the York SPCA 3159 Susquehanna Trail N, York, PA 17406 and/or St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 1502 4th Ave & Ogontz Streets, York, PA 17403.