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Minnie Pharris Beasley

Minnie Pharris Beasley was small enough to fit in a shoebox when she was born back on February 7th, 1923.  She was named after Minnie Embry, the midwife who her parents paid five dollars to deliver her in their log cabin.  Life didn't get much easier, narrowly escaping being shot by her brother playing rabbit huntin' with a loaded rifle while Minnie and her sisters hopped about.  She walked three miles to school in clothes that her mother sewed for her to share with her sisters.  Minnie had to hand wash them with water from the spring using the lye soap her mother made from slaughtering one of their hogs.  Her parents never had electricity or a car since they had a team of mules and wagon.  She never learned to drive either but had a trusty stick horse that would get her where she needed to go when it wasn't sick, lame, or lost.  At age 18 Wade Beasley charmed her into marriage with his love for jokes, riddles, poems, and scripture.  He called her his "pretty girl."  And she became a proud patriot who supported America by going without her husband during the war while raising a daughter by herself following the  depression.  With only a sixth grade education, Minnie could still help her husband calculate the tabs of customers at their country store in Neafus who promised and often forgot to "pay up later."

Minnie never gave up tending life's garden while her parents (William Pharris and Bertie Alford Pharris), all thirteen of her siblings, and beloved husband preceded her in death.  But after 91 years, she has finally found the best find of a faithful lifetime at the big yard sale in the sky.  As of August 26, 2014, Wade's favorite restaurant (Minnie Pearl's Kitchen) has reopened in a new location.  She's not baking sugar free desserts any more, not that she ever has, but she doesn't have to sneak it anymore.  Her Rice Krispies treats will be missed by those back home including daughters Layvonne Bratcher (Osco) and Diana Ray (Don) and grandchildren Bruce Bratcher (Angela), Colleen Phelps (Bill), Richie Bratcher, Chad Bratcher, Melissa Wilkinson (Jack), Emmanuel Ray (Crystal), Heath Ray, and great grandchildren Tosha Blacklock (Jordan), Haley Bratcher, Elizabeth Craig (Brent), McKinley Royalty, Mason Royalty, and her little Kaisen Wade Ray.

The phone won't be ringing at dinner time today with Minnie asking who's in Jones Funeral Home.  She's taking her turn and would love to visit with her kinfolks on Friday, August 29th from 11 am to 8 pm.  The funeral service will be held on Saturday at 11 am at Jones.  Don't forget to sign the register.  She gets to see the country one last time with a graveside service at Oak Ridge Baptist Church where she attended most of her life.  It's safe to assume there will be some good gospel singing there, not as great as what she's tapin' her toe to now, but it will still be good.

Minnie always loved company.  The family invites friends to stop by one last time and take home some of Minnie's plastic bags, foam cups, and plastic containers that she collected over the years.  She didn't want them to go to waste.  Making the most of what you have is what got her through a long and tough yet satisfying life.

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