Obituary for Joan Lucile Beeney (Spencer)
Joan “Jo” L. Beeney, 88, of Scottsbluff, passed away Monday, October 25, 2021, at Heritage Estates in Gering. Her memorial service will be held at 2pm on Friday, October 29, 2021, at the First United Methodist Church in Scotts-bluff with Pastor Craig Collins officiating. The service will be livestreamed at firstumcsb.com/live. Inurnment will follow at Fairview Cemetery. The family respectfully requests that memorials in Jo’s honor be made in care of the First United Methodist Church, Lied Scottsbluff Public Library, Regional West Medical Center Foundation, and the Nebraska Public Radio Foundation. NPR was an important part of Jo’s Day and she was a member from the time it was available in the Panhandle. Online condolences may be made by viewing Jo’s memorial page at www.bridgmanfuneralhome.com. Bridgman Funeral Home and Cremation Services in Scottsbluff is entrusted with arrangements.
Joan was born August 7, 1933, to Harold R. and Dorothy P. (Van Dyke) Spencer in Lincoln, NE. She graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1951 and attended Nebraska Wesleyan University from 1951-1953, where she was a member of Willard Sorority. She married William G. Beeney at Lincoln, NE on October 17, 1954. They moved to Scottsbluff in 1959 where he was appointed District Manager for the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
Joan was a secretary at Hiram Scott College from 1965-1970 and at Western Nebraska Community College from 1970-1974. In 1975 she began employment as secretary to the president of Regional West Medical Center, retiring in 1997.
She was a past secretary of the Scottsbluff Concert Association, a member and past secretary of the Rebecca Winters Genealogical Society, member and secretary of Friends of the Library Board, a volunteer at Regional West Medical Center and the North Platte Valley Museum (now Legacy of the Plains). She belonged to the first United Methodist Church in Scottsbluff, she loved being a grandma and enjoyed reading, serving, gardening, and genealogy.
Survivors include her daughter, Diane Beeney and fiancé Mike Dewey of York, NE; son and daughter-in-law Thomas and Michelle Beeney of Mitchell, NE, son John Beeney and partner Eric Jacobs of San Francisco, CA; grandchildren Daniel of Fargo, ND, Sarah of Kearney, NE and Rachel of Lincoln, NE; brother Richard Spencer of Lincoln, NE, brother-in-law Randall Pfeil of Omaha, NE, sister-in-law Donna Beeney of Shakopee, MN, nephews and nieces. Preceded in death by her husband in 2008, two brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law.
Joan was born August 7, 1933, to Harold R. and Dorothy P. (Van Dyke) Spencer in Lincoln, NE. She graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School in 1951 and attended Nebraska Wesleyan University from 1951-1953, where she was a member of Willard Sorority. She married William G. Beeney at Lincoln, NE on October 17, 1954. They moved to Scottsbluff in 1959 where he was appointed District Manager for the Equitable Life Assurance Society.
Joan was a secretary at Hiram Scott College from 1965-1970 and at Western Nebraska Community College from 1970-1974. In 1975 she began employment as secretary to the president of Regional West Medical Center, retiring in 1997.
She was a past secretary of the Scottsbluff Concert Association, a member and past secretary of the Rebecca Winters Genealogical Society, member and secretary of Friends of the Library Board, a volunteer at Regional West Medical Center and the North Platte Valley Museum (now Legacy of the Plains). She belonged to the first United Methodist Church in Scottsbluff, she loved being a grandma and enjoyed reading, serving, gardening, and genealogy.
Survivors include her daughter, Diane Beeney and fiancé Mike Dewey of York, NE; son and daughter-in-law Thomas and Michelle Beeney of Mitchell, NE, son John Beeney and partner Eric Jacobs of San Francisco, CA; grandchildren Daniel of Fargo, ND, Sarah of Kearney, NE and Rachel of Lincoln, NE; brother Richard Spencer of Lincoln, NE, brother-in-law Randall Pfeil of Omaha, NE, sister-in-law Donna Beeney of Shakopee, MN, nephews and nieces. Preceded in death by her husband in 2008, two brothers-in-law and two sisters-in-law.