The Best Seven Years Of My Life
March is Women’s History Month. Wesley Homes is proud to feature resident Betty Beeman, in honor of her career as Administrative and Personal Secretary to Dan Evans, former Washington State Governor and President of Evergreen State College.
Paul & Betty Beeman
Listen to Betty’s interview [display_podcast]“The best seven years of my life” is how Betty Beeman fondly describes memories of her career as Administrative and Personal Secretary to Dan Evans, then President of Evergreen State College and former Washington State Governor in what many regard as one of the most interesting political periods in Washington State history.
“When Evans accepted the position of President of Evergreen State College he had a lot of carryover from having been Governor,” said Betty. His appointment of Betty to help him handle that carryover meant she was privy to many important events and became acquainted with a parade of distinguished politicians including visiting dignitaries from foreign countries.
When Evans was selected to fill the U.S. Senate seat in the early 80’s he asked Betty to go to Washington D.C. and set up his office there. “It was a hard decision, but I passed up that opportunity,” said Betty, “our youngest child was in high school and I preferred living in this Washington.”
Betty and her husband Paul have remained friends of Dan and Nancy Evans. “We were invited to his and Bill Gate Sr.’s combined 80th birthday party three years ago,” said Betty, “Each of them invited 80 guests to a catered dinner at the Don James Center on the University of Washington campus.”
Betty and Paul are in their early 80’s and a very active couple. “We’ve been married for almost 58 years,” said Betty. The first thing you may notice about Betty is her strong handshake. Paul is responsible for putting together the Wesley Homes TV station and at the time of this interview was busy producing a show for Channel 28.
Wesley homes Retirement Community has been a part of Paul and Betty’s lives for 10 years since they moved into their cottage on the Des Moines Campus in 1999. And prior to her death in 1994, Paul’s mother was a Wesley Homes resident for 21 years.
“We were exceedingly grateful for the care she got here,” said Betty. Also they had known about Wesley Homes since the early 1960′s because of Paul’s roles as Director of Public Relations, District Superintendent and Pastor in the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Methodist Church.
“When it seemed important to plan for ‘life after 72′ so that our kids didn’t have to do it later, there was no doubt about where we wanted to live. We also wanted to come into Wesley Homes young enough and healthy enough that we could become involved in, contribute to and just plain enjoy life here.” She said, “It was one of the wisest decisions we ever made. We absolutely love it here.”
–Ilene Little for Wesley Homes
July 28th, 2009 at 7:42 am
Being green for the BBQ was great and it is good for Wesley Homes to be environmentally conscious. I hope we continue in that direction. The food and all those who attended the event were great too!