Mrs. Dessa Beasley, widow of Thomas H. Beasley, Sr., was called to her eternal home in Heaven on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Born Pearl Dessa Turkett on April 4, 1930, she was the youngest child of the late Joseph Elias Freshley Turkett and Mattie Pearl Simmons Turkett. In addition to her parents and her husband, she was preceded in death by her brothers and sisters-in-law Paul (Fannie Mae), Joseph (Vivian), Curtis (Marjorie); her sister and brother-in-law, Lillian Turkett Coward (Paul); brothers-in-law Carlos Townsend and Richard Riley; and grandson Ryan. She is survived by two widowed sisters, Caroline Turkett Townsend and Frances Turkett Riley; two children, Thomas H. Beasley, JR. (Kim) and Carolyn B. Moore (Richard); six grandchildren, Michael (Katie), Matthew (Anna) Justin and Andrew (Kennedy) Moore and Hillary Kimsey (Tom) and John Beasley; nine great grandchildren, Barrett Beasley and Makenna, Kiana, Joshua, Ellie, Emily, Olivia, Kayleigh and Hunter Moore; and her very best friend from college, Rosalyn Matthews. All her grands and great-grands adored Nana, AKA Nena.

Dessa attended Columbia High School and then graduated cum laude from the University of South Carolina with a degree in education. She taught secondary English and French in Denmark, SC for one year and at Jenkinsville High School for three and a half years. It was during this time that she met the love of her life, Tom. He was deployed to Korea and after practicing the lost art of writing love letters (many, MANY love letters) back and forth, they were married upon his return, as he had, in fact, actually proposed in his first letter home! Dessa then devoted her life to being a wife and mother and a faithful worker at both Crooked Run Baptist (her home church) and Eau Claire Baptist (her "in-town" church). She served as a Cub Scout leader, a choir mother, a Sunbeam leader and an adult Sunday school teacher. She was also a WMU member at Eau Claire as well as a member of one of several Wednesday night cooking teams. Neighborhood children could always count on Ms. Dessa for help with their homework!

In addition to her family and her churches, Dessa loved their home at Lake Wateree. An accomplished seamstress, cook and crafter in town, she was also an avid gardener and fisherman at the lake and once said she was proud that she could "clean a fish and kill a snake!" We all cherish those times at the lake with Nana and Papa Tom!
In her later years, Dessa was known to friends and family members as a great "Prayer Warrior". She would spend many hours in God's Word and in His presence as she prayed for everyone on her "list' that was several pages long and constantly growing. Everyone knew that when you had a concern you needed to ask Ms. Dessa to pray for you. She was considered a very devout, friendly, and gracious lady and was loved by those that knew her. She will be missed greatly!

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 15, from 6 until 8 o'clock at Shives Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel, 5205 Colonial Drive, Columbia, SC. The family will also recieve guests an hour prior to the service at the Church. The funeral service will be held on Thursday, May 16, at 2 o'clock at Crooked Run Baptist Church, 7978 SC-269, Winnsboro, SC. Burial will follow the service in the Church Cemetery. Shives Funeral Home, Colonial Chapel, is assisting the family.