Barbara Marie (Beasley) Clevenger, 94, of Yakima died Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Aegis Living Ravenna, Seattle.
Barbara was born August 18, 1927 in Seattle, WA to Dr. Gaius and Mrs. Mildred Beasley. She was the third of five siblings. Barbara was raised in Coulee Dam where her father established a successful dental practice during the building of Grand Coulee Dam. Barbara graduated from Mason City High School in 1945 and attended Whitman College where she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
Life changed dramatically for Barbara in February of her freshmen year when both her parents were killed in a head-on car collision. “They were only 48 years old and there were five children.” Barbara became a custodial parent at nineteen. She was engaged to David Clevenger prior to the accident and was always thankful her parents knew their daughter was going to marry David.
Tragedy again tested Barbara’s strength and faith when David suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at age 23. Unconscious for a number of weeks and concerned he would not survive, doctors advised them not to marry. With her usual determinedness and stubbornness, Barbara ignored the advice and they were married on June 29, 1947 at the Coulee Dam Community Church. They settled in Yakima after their marriage where David worked for Louie P. Michelsen as a sales representative. The first year of his recovery there was concern that David could have a seizure while on the road so Barbara drove him to all his business appointments around the valley. Barbara continued to be a tremendous asset to her husband throughout his business career at Michelsen Packaging Company where he became president from 1973 until his retirement in 1983. They both loved Yakima and it was Barbara’s home for 73 years.
Barbara and David were blessed with three boys who were raised on the family orchard with grandparents living next door at the end of the driveway. While the boys were growing up Barbara was in charge of the orchard payroll, she volunteered in the classroom, served as room mother, taught Sunday School, and served as a deacon at Westminster Presbyterian Church. She was a member of Yakima Junior Aid (later known as Junior League of Yakima) and very involved with its nursery for special needs children. Barbara was a tennis player, golfer, and a downhill skier in her younger years and a bridge player throughout her life. She was skilled at any card game and a fierce competitor. A voracious reader and life-long supporter of the Yakima Library, Barbara also enjoyed gardening and cooking. She always seemed to have the newest kitchen gadgets in her drawers. Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings were never complete without Barbara’s delicious turkey gravy and her anticipated spritz butter cookies, Nanaimo bars, and fudge. Barbara’s boys remember their mom’s chocolate chip cookies being such a favorite that each son had his own share in the freezer.
The cabin at Rimrock was a favorite spot for the family and many weekends were spent jeeping and camping with friends in the Chinook and White Pass areas. There were family vacations in the summer at Lake Chelan and Birch Bay. The cabana and house at Three Tree Point on Puget Sound was another special place that gave Barbara much happiness. She and David enjoyed attending Sonic and Seahawk games. They were avid Husky fans and became UW season ticket holder in the 1960s.
Together Barbara and David traveled the world and she was always planning the next trip. She never knew a stranger and loved to experience new places. The grandkids remember looking at the map on the breakfast room wall full of push pins showing all the places they had been.
Barbara and David were in numerous bridge groups playing as often as twice a week, members of the Yakima Country Club, supporters of the Capitol Theatre, The Warehouse Theatre, The Yakima Museum, and Memorial Foundation of Yakima. Their great generosity extended to their family, their church, and their community.
Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Gayllis Anne Paynter and Elizabeth Petermeyer, her brother Robert W. Beasley, sister-in-law Rose Marie, and her loving husband of 45 years, David McKay Clevenger. She is survived by her sister Katherine (Leo) O’Dore and three devoted sons, Greg (Jill) of Peshastin, Mark (Stephanie) of Yakima and Mike (Marci) Seattle, seven adoring grandchildren, Casey, Molly, Kathleen, Christopher, Laura, Matt and Sarah, and nine great-grandchildren who called her “GG.”
Throughout her life, Barbara had a resilient and courageous spirit in the face of adversity. Even amid the isolation, solitude, and restrictions of the 2020 pandemic, she took joy in the love of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We will miss her beautiful blue eyes.
A family gathering will be held in the spring at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima. She will be interred with her husband and buried next to his parents.
Barbara Marie (Beasley) Clevenger, 94, of Yakima died Saturday, October 16, 2021 at Aegis Living Ravenna, Seattle.
Barbara was born August 18, 1927 in Seattle, WA to Dr. Gaius and Mrs. Mildred Beasley. She was the third of five siblings. Barbara was raised in Coulee Dam where her father established a successful dental practice during the building of Grand Coulee Dam. Barbara graduated from Mason City High School in 1945 and attended Whitman College where she was a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
Life changed dramatically for Barbara in February of her freshmen year when both her parents were killed in a head-on car collision. “They were only 48 years old and there were five children.” Barbara became a custodial parent at nineteen. She was engaged to David Clevenger prior to the accident and was always thankful her parents knew their daughter was going to marry David.
Tragedy again tested Barbara’s strength and faith when David suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at age 23. Unconscious for a number of weeks and concerned he would not survive, doctors advised them not to marry. With her usual determinedness and stubbornness, Barbara ignored the advice and they were married on June 29, 1947 at the Coulee Dam Community Church. They settled in Yakima after their marriage where David worked for Louie P. Michelsen as a sales representative. The first year of his recovery there was concern that David could have a seizure while on the road so Barbara drove him to all his business appointments around the valley. Barbara continued to be a tremendous asset to her husband throughout his business career at Michelsen Packaging Company where he became president from 1973 until his retirement in 1983. They both loved Yakima and it was Barbara’s home for 73 years.
Barbara and David were blessed with three boys who were raised on the family orchard with grandparents living next door at the end of the driveway. While the boys were growing up Barbara was in charge of the orchard payroll, she volunteered in the classroom, served as room mother, taught Sunday School, and served as a deacon at Westminster Presbyterian Church. She was a member of Yakima Junior Aid (later known as Junior League of Yakima) and very involved with its nursery for special needs children. Barbara was a tennis player, golfer, and a downhill skier in her younger years and a bridge player throughout her life. She was skilled at any card game and a fierce competitor. A voracious reader and life-long supporter of the Yakima Library, Barbara also enjoyed gardening and cooking. She always seemed to have the newest kitchen gadgets in her drawers. Thanksgiving and Christmas gatherings were never complete without Barbara’s delicious turkey gravy and her anticipated spritz butter cookies, Nanaimo bars, and fudge. Barbara’s boys remember their mom’s chocolate chip cookies being such a favorite that each son had his own share in the freezer.
The cabin at Rimrock was a favorite spot for the family and many weekends were spent jeeping and camping with friends in the Chinook and White Pass areas. There were family vacations in the summer at Lake Chelan and Birch Bay. The cabana and house at Three Tree Point on Puget Sound was another special place that gave Barbara much happiness. She and David enjoyed attending Sonic and Seahawk games. They were avid Husky fans and became UW season ticket holder in the 1960s.
Together Barbara and David traveled the world and she was always planning the next trip. She never knew a stranger and loved to experience new places. The grandkids remember looking at the map on the breakfast room wall full of push pins showing all the places they had been.
Barbara and David were in numerous bridge groups playing as often as twice a week, members of the Yakima Country Club, supporters of the Capitol Theatre, The Warehouse Theatre, The Yakima Museum, and Memorial Foundation of Yakima. Their great generosity extended to their family, their church, and their community.
Barbara is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Gayllis Anne Paynter and Elizabeth Petermeyer, her brother Robert W. Beasley, sister-in-law Rose Marie, and her loving husband of 45 years, David McKay Clevenger. She is survived by her sister Katherine (Leo) O’Dore and three devoted sons, Greg (Jill) of Peshastin, Mark (Stephanie) of Yakima and Mike (Marci) Seattle, seven adoring grandchildren, Casey, Molly, Kathleen, Christopher, Laura, Matt and Sarah, and nine great-grandchildren who called her “GG.”
Throughout her life, Barbara had a resilient and courageous spirit in the face of adversity. Even amid the isolation, solitude, and restrictions of the 2020 pandemic, she took joy in the love of her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. We will miss her beautiful blue eyes.
A family gathering will be held in the spring at Terrace Heights Memorial Park in Yakima. She will be interred with her husband and buried next to his parents.
