Lawana Overne "Jo" Beckman

Obituary Pending NORTH RICHLAND HILLS -- Lawana "Jo" Beckman, passed away Wednesday, June 1, 2016. Graveside service: 2 p.m. Tuesday at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Following the graveside service, there will be a reception from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Whites Chapel Estate located at 7601 Precinct Line Rd. in North Richland Hills. Visitation: The family will receive friends Monday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Lucas Funeral Home, 1321 Precinct Line Rd. in Hurst.
Survivors: Step-daughters, Carol Beckman Kirchner and Terri Wilson; step-son, Alton Wilson; daughter, Catherine Uberman; nieces and nephews, Janie Lett, Annette Fergerson, Bobbie Pruett, Jay Pruett, David Pruett and Carmen Koonce; along with many more loving family members.
A woman who touched many lives through her 90 years. Many would be here today but Aunt
Lawana or "Jo" outlived most of them.
Lawana Overne Pruett or "Jo" was born on Feb. 10, 1926 in Mannsville, Oklahoma to Murl and
Shannon Edgar Pruett. The youngest of four children, the oldest Janet, then Curtis Watus & Jack Walton.
The Pruetts were farmers. Lawana loved talking about her life on the farm and of her brothers chasing her through the fields but to escape their mischief by leaping bareback on her horse to
dash away holding tightly to the mane. She told stories about farm life and the Great Depression
that made her eyes twinkle.
She graduated from Mannsville, Oklahoma High School in 1944. Beginning a long life of caring for friends and family. She drove her pregnant sister-in-law to Kansas in July 1944 to visit her brother, Walton, before his deployment to Asia. Lawana and her sister purchased a home in Ardmore, Oklahoma for their parents. She lived in Sarasota, Fla. working for the federal government, but her family and heart were in Oklahoma. She returned to Ardmore, Ok. and began working for Sky Chef, an American Airlines contractor, where she met Phillip C. Beckman,
the love of her life, and a pilot for American Airlines. They married in 1953. Their only son, Mark
Clayton Beckman was born September 12, 1957 in Tulsa, Okla. The family moved to Ft. Worth/
Hurst when Phil was transferred to Love Field.
Phil passed away May 29, 1965 in their home with Lawana by his side. Years later she was
married to Willie Wilson for a few years. Her beloved son, Mark, passed away on April 12, 1984.
Lawana was a caregiver for her sister Janet Williams, her Aunt Jean Overne Clements, her
cousin Kendall Sherrill, dear friend Jim Lambert, and many other friends and family during her
long life. Her dear friend, Don Nobles praised her saying when she ran out of friends and family she would seek out needy strangers to care for.
She played bridge for many years in Hurst, including her longtime friend, Nellene Jones.
Lawana loved bowling and participated in tournaments both locally and in Las Vegas.
She loved animals, her pet cat Maggie, and Mark's dogs....Hermie, Blinkie, Cricket, and Lucy.
She even worried about the family of raccoons living in the chimney.
On August 2, 1998 Lawana reaffirmed her baptism at the First Methodist Church of Tulsa,Okla.,
with her Aunt Jean.
Her favorite verse was the 23rd Psalm. She read it each night from Easter Sunday 2015, to her
death, June 1, 2016. She faced death with trust in the Lord, knowing God's love.