Zeta Mercella Elizabeth Menzies Beeson

Mass of Chrisitian Burial for Mercella Beeson will be held at 11:00 a.m., Friday, January 20, 2023 at St. Matthew's Catholic Church with Father Steven Titus officiating. Visitaion will be held from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., Thursday, January 19, 2023 at Gillette Memorial Chapel with Rosary to begin at 6:00 p.m. Zeta Mercella Elizabeth Menzies Beeson was born to Edwin and Elna Menzies on July 24, 1934, in Belize. She was the first girl after six boys, two of whom died in infancy. Her mother later gave birth to three more girls. Mercella loved her family very much and she was much loved by them. They kept in close contact with each other. At baptism, Mercella was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and later in life she made her consecration to Our Lady. She had great devotion to Our Blessed Lady and enjoyed praying her daily rosary. One of the happiest days in her life was the day she first received Our Lord in the Eucharist, and was confirmed that afternoon receiving the name, Mary, at age seven. At an early age, she left her beloved family and homeland to come to the United States to answer God’s call and joined the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family, a teaching order. She loved teaching, no matter what age- infant to adulthood. She obtained her BA in Education at the College of Mt. St. Joseph in Ohio; and her MA in English at Loyola University in Los Angeles, California; and her MRE, at Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana. Years later, due to ill health she requested and obtained dispensation to leave the Holy Family Order. She returned to her family, then in New York. Because of her love for learning and teaching, she continued to teach in the Catholic School System, and also began helping the elderly in San Diego, CA. When she gave up teaching, she became a Certified Nursing Assistant and worked fulltime in the medical field. While living in San Diego, she and Thomas Beeson, now deceased, met and later were married in a concelebrated Mass at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church. In 1995, three years later, they moved to Gillette, WY. Here, Mercella worked at Hospice, Pioneer Manor, Home Health, Campbell County Memorial Hospital, Gillette College Campus (in ESL program), Campbell County Jail (in Outreach Teaching Program), and the last ten years, before retiring, she worked at Dr. A. Bagnarello’s Medical Clinic as a Medical Assistant/ Secretary. Mercella was always happy when helping others. Above all, she was most happy when attending daily Mass and receiving Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist. She began attending daily Mass on her own at the age of nine, and on days when the weather was unfavorable or because of illness, Our Lord came to her in the Holy Eucharist, thanks to the extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion. Mercella was active in her church at St. Matthew’s Catholic Community where she volunteered as a Lector, and Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, Hospital Ministry, and Homebound Ministry, bringing the Eucharist to the sick. She also worked with the Thanksgiving and Christmas Teams helping those in need. She loved to sing and praise God with all she had during the Eucharistic Celebrations. She sang in the English and Bilingual Choirs. Her favorite hobbies were reading, sewing, crocheting, doing plastic canvas craft, and camping in the Big Horn Mountains, with her husband Thomas, and their dog, Taffy. She loved keeping in touch with her relatives and friends by phone, and by mail at Christmas. Four years after the death of her husband, Thomas, Mercella moved to Florida to be with her family in 2019. She resided with her niece, Debra, and her nephew-in-law, Edmund Hulse for little over a year. She returned home to Gillette in February 2021. Mercella is preceded in death by parents; her husband, Thomas V. Beeson; brothers, Eddie, Stephen, Karl, and Henry Menzies; two youngest sisters, Anna K. Morales and Rita Mae Bolan; four adult nephews, and one adult grand-niece. She is survived by her younger sister, Edith M. Koehler, forty-two nieces and nephews, and a host of grandnieces and grandnephews. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to benefit a scholarship for St. John Paul II Catholic School, for needy students, in the name of “Menzies-Beeson”. Memorials and condolences may be sent in care of Gillette Memorial Chapel 210 West 5^th Street, Gillette, WY 82716. Condolences may be expressed at ww.gillettememorialchapel.com