It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Jo Carolyn Beebe, a member of NCWN-West for many years.
Jo Carolyn Beebe
September 23, 1937 — August 6, 2023
Hiawassee
Jo
Carolyn Beebe, age 85, of Hiawassee, Georgia, passed away on August 6, 2023, at
her home.
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| Jo Carolyn Beebe reading at the John C. Campbell Folk School |
I met Jo Carolyn in Nancy Simpson’s writing class when I first
came to NC in 1996. She was interested in Genealogy, and she wrote family
stories about growing up in Mississippi and stories about her ancestors. Her
readings were always entertaining.
Back in May, I received an email from her saying she
didn’t drive at night anymore and could not attend nighttime events. So many of
our members have reached an age when driving at night is difficult. Her dear
husband, John, who always accompanied her to Writers Night Out readings, is not well either.
The following is from 2017 when she and I and
Glenda Barrett were reading at the folk school for the Literary Hour.
“Jo Carolyn Beebe is a native of
Mississippi. Many of her poems and stories are based on her recollections
of conversations with her grandparents. Her Grandmother Anderson said,
"The Bartletts are kin to Daniel Boone. They came through the Cumberland
Gap with him." Great-grandfather Ricks showed her a greasy circle in his
front yard where no grass would grow. "This is where the Indians cooked
their food," he told her.
She also has her own memories of life in a small, rural
town. Her story, "The Way You Hypnotize a Chicken," really happened
when she and a friend hypnotized one of Grandmother's hens. And where else but
in a small town could two little girls play in the funeral home and pick out
their everyday casket and their Sunday casket?
Jo Carolyn has been published in Main Street
Rag, Clothes Lines, Women's Spaces Women's Places, Lonzie's Fried Chicken,
Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, and by
Abingdon Press. She was most gratified with her family history
book The Beekeepers and Sons of Ander.
She is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, and has
been a resident of Towns County for 21 years.”
Diana Smith said, "She was kind, funny, talented, supportive to everyone, and had a wonderful southern voice which was prominent in her writing. She was an expert in genealogy and taught classes in it. We lost a wonderful person too soon."
Her short story, "Boys Can Be Angels Too" was for children and was published as a Christmas play by Abington Press," Diana said, "and she has a book ready for publication now."
We will miss Jo Carolyn and send our heartfelt sympathy to John and all of her family and many friends.
I always enjoyed Jo Carolyn’s stories. She was a great lady and will be missed.
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