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Reno Gazette-Journal article following Bud Beasley's death
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
7/19/2004 11:40 pm
Bud Beasley, an athlete, coach and teacher who influenced thousands of Reno youngsters in a 70-year career as an educator, has died. He was 93. In failing health the past 11 months, Beasley died at home Saturday. Bud Beasley Elementary School in Sparks and the athletic complex at Reno High School where Beasley taught and coached for 38 years re named in his honor. He was an inspiring man, said state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, a 1944 Reno High graduate. He ust really touched the lives of thousands in this area. Everybody looked up to him. He stood for integrity and what was right. He was a mentor to so many. He will really be missed.
Beasley was known for his good humor, dynamic storytelling and genuine affection for his students. It was just a genuine pleasure to be associated with this man, said Reno’s Ken Fujii, who played football, basketball and baseball for Beasley and later joined him on the Reno High coaching staff. He was always jovial and a lot of fun to be around, yet always very professional. He would do anything for you. In or out of school, on or off the court, he was the same person just a first-class man.
Beasley was born Dec. 8, 1910, in Melrose, N.M. He was raised in Santa Cruz, Calif., and was a star athlete at Santa Cruz High. His high school coach, former Nevada All-American James “Rabbit” Bradshaw, encouraged Beasley to attend the college in Reno. He played football, basketball and baseball at Nevada, graduating in 1934. His career as an educator had started the year before when he worked as a student-teacher at Mary S. Doten Elementary School. He taught at Reno’s Northside Junior High in 1934, then Battle Mountain High School in 1935 before returning to Reno in 1936 to join the staff at Reno High School.
His legacy is so darned deep it’s absolutely amazing, said Reno historian Neal Cobb, a 1958 Reno High grad. He shared his talents with class after class after class. He never forgot a name or a face. He attended every reunion. Everything he did was to add to the quality of everyone’s life. During World War II, Beasley sent a constant stream of letters to the Reno High boys serving overseas.
An outstanding athlete, Beasley played professional baseball in the summers. A left-handed pitcher, he played for the Sacramento Solons and the Seattle Pilots of the old Pacific Coast League, the top West Coast league in the days before.
Major League Baseball moved West. His love and appreciation for the game of baseball was second to none, said Fred Dallimore, the star pitcher on Beasley’s 1962 state championship baseball team at Reno High and the longtime baseball coach at UNLV. He was one of the most knowledgeable baseball guys I’ve ever known. He was just the type of guy you truly enjoyed playing the game for, Dallimore said. He had the best outlook on life, always positive. He coached the same way.
He just loved kids and he loved to teach, said Bob Benson, a longtime coach, teacher and administrator in Washoe County schools who knew Beasley for 50 years. He was especially good with the disadvantaged kids, the special ed kids. He just had a knack with them and they really took to him.
After leaving Reno High in 1974, Beasley taught adaptive physical education to special needs children at several schools. He taught history and American government courses at Washoe High School, an alternative school with mostly at-risk students, until he became ill a year ago.
Beasley and his wife, Nellie, cared for dozens of foster children through the years and adopted 17 children. It’s a testament to his life, the fact that he spent his life helping other people, said Reno High baseball coach Pete Savage. That’s really a measure of a man and he’s an outstanding example of that. He was just an unbelievable human being.
The PTO is much more than fundraising for school field trips, school supplies, and teacher appreciation. We are working to provide a sense of community and family involvement within the school.
When you are involved, your child is involved and can feel pride, ownership, participation, and community in his or her school. Stress the importance of education and community by joining the PTO and participating in events throughout the year.
It is our goal to enhance the educational experience at Beasley in any way we can. We thank you for being involved and helping to make all of this possible!
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