Childhood & FamilyHerman E. Beasley was born in Hinds County on June 5, 1919. He was the first child of his father, Willie Beasley(Sept, 9 1900- March 1983), and his mother, Ethel Collier. Herman grew up on a farm in Utica that his father rented. His parents married when his father was 18 and his mother was 20. His parents, over the next 20 years, had 7 more children.
The Beasley lived on farm in Utica when Herman was born. His father was a farmer at the time.8 Willie, Herman’s father, moved to Louisiana to work as a foreman for a railroad. His siblings, in order, were: Margaret Willette, Robert Murray, Jesse Katherine, Dorothy Jean, William Floyd, Sybil Ann, and Richard Shelton. Margaret Beasley was born October 4th, 1922 in Hinds County, MS. She married Willie Shelton Reed on July 11th, 1939 in Utica, MS. He died in Massachusetts, 4 years later, on November 19th, 1943. She later remarried Cassidy George Bordeaux on January 15th, 1952. He also died, 10 years later, on August 18, 1962. She finally married Chester Greer on a unknown date. He died June 27th, 1984. After that, she never remarried. Margaret died on November 1st, 2007. Robert Murray Beasley was born May 27th, 1923, in Hinds County, MS. After he was old enough, he moved Russell, Kentucky, where he got married to Doris Virginia Painter on October 13th, 1942. He also served in WWII in the Air Corps as a radio operator and engineer. During his time in the army, he hosted a big band radio program called “Easily with Beasley”. He later served as the Director of Travel and Tourism and the governor of Kentucky’s assistant for 12 years. He worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. Then, he transferred to the Office of the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation. There he served as a Program Coordinator and Special Projects Director. He served as a speech writer for Elizabeth Dole and had the honor of working with Marlin Fitzwater. He had one daughter, Kathi Lynn Green, and one son, Robert S. Beasley. Robert died on September 13, 2007 due to an illness. Jesse Katherine Beasley was born on September 30th, 1924 in Hinds County, MS. She married Edgar Lloyd Jr. She died on July 30th, 2005 in Meridian, MS. Dorothy Jean Beasley was born on August 28th, 1933 in Hinds County, MS. She married on January 24, 1953 in Utica, MS. She had 5 children during her marriage. She died on January 16, 1997 and was buried in Utica. William Floyd Beasley was born May 12th, 1935 in Hinds County, MS. He married Mary Ann Moulder, had two sons, Steve and Todd, one daughter, Cherly. William served in the U.S army for two years at Fort Lewis and worked at the Waterways Experiment Station in Vicksburg for 30 years. He died in the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson on June 18th, 2011. Sybil Ann Beasley was born on February 11, 1937 in Hinds County, MS. She married Larry Craft in Utica, MS on May 27th, 1965. Larry died in 1993. They had two children together. In a different relationship with and unknown person she had another two daughters. She died on January 25th, 2000 in Sheffield, Alabama. She was buried in the Sheffield Cemetery. Richard Shelton Beasley was born on June 13th, 1938. He married Edith Earl He lived in Utica in the Cayuga community and was buried there when he died on September 27th, 2021. Herman did not have any children due to his death in the war. He married a woman named Sybil Frances Little. Herman had a full 4 years of high school education but did not go to college.Before enlisting in the Army Air Force, he worked as a bookkeeper and a bank cashier. |