Dorothy June (Sexton) Beals, 83, of Coffeyville, Kan., died Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, at Medicalodges on Midland after a years-long battle with kidney disease.
She was a wife, a mother, a grandmother, an aunt, a sister and a daughter.
Dorothy was born on Aug. 3,1941, in Charlestown, Ind., to Guy A. and Maude E. (Kebert) Sexton. As a young girl, she relocated to Neodesha, Kan., attending Neodesha South Elementary. She would later attend junior high and high school in Altoona and Neodesha, but eventually graduated from Neodesha High School in 1959. Following high school, she briefly attended Independence Community College.
After catching the eye of a certain gentleman one evening at a dance, she met and later married Jimmie M. Beals on March 19, 1961, at the First Christian Church in Neodesha. The newlyweds made their home in Neodesha until moving to Coffeyville in 1964. The family was a little bigger by this time as they welcomed their first child – a daughter, Sonya – born in August 1962.
As her daughter grew, Dorothy, a homemaker, volunteered as Sonya’s Girl Scout leader. She served as a Brownie leader for three years and as a Junior Girl Scout leader for three years. Dorothy and Jim served several years as camp committee leaders for the then-Meadowlark Girl Scout Council’s camp at Elk City State Park.
During cookie season, it wasn’t uncommon to find boxes and boxes of Girl Scout cookies stacked high in her living room each winter as local troop leaders inundated her home to replenish their inventories. Peanut butter, Thin Mints. You name it. She had it in stock. In all, Dorothy served as a Girl Scout volunteer for 15 years.
Her family expanded again in August 1971 with the birth of another daughter, Jennifer.
Once her children were in school, Dorothy returned to the workforce, working at Tony’s Bakery in Nu-Way Foodliner for several years. She also worked as an office assistant for local cardiologist, Dr. John Coyle in the 1980s. Later on, Dorothy worked as a home health aide, caring for the elderly. Following retirement, she volunteered with the Salvation Army, serving on its advisory board.
Music was a big part of her life, and she loved to sing. She also fostered that love for music in her children. She also loved growing flowers, especially tea roses. Each summer, she and Jim cultivated impressive backyard gardens bursting with tomatoes, okra, peppers, squash and other vegetables. Dorothy was also a Christian and enjoyed attending church and especially loved spending time with her Sunday School class. She was a member of First Baptist Church in Coffeyville for 10 years and was a former member of the First United Methodist Church. Even in her final days, she found comfort in the reading of the scriptures.
In her later years, Dorothy developed a love for sports, cheering on the Kansas State University Wildcats and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Dorothy is survived by her daughters, Sonya Crosby, of Ankeny, Iowa, and Jennifer McDaniel, of Paola, Kan.; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren; a sister, Guyana Priestley, of Athens, Texas; and half-sister, Luella Howarth, Bartlesville, Okla., as well as her nephews, cousins and numerous other family members and friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents and her husband, Jim, with whom she shared more than 50 years of marriage.
Services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at the First Baptist Church in Coffeyville, with the Rev. Dick Smith officiating. Visitation will take place prior to the service from 10-11 a.m. Following Dorothy’s wishes, after the service, cremation will take place. The family suggests memorials to the Coffeyville Salvation Army Auxiliary. Contributions may be left with the funeral home or mailed in care of David W. Barnes Funeral Home, 306 N. Cline Road, Coffeyville, KS 67337.
