Mary Jane “MJ” Beasley, a long-time SaddleBrooke resident, died in August 2023. However, her life-long dedication to education lives on. MJ and her husband, Norm, were among the earliest SaddleBrooke residents, moving here in the early 1990s. After spending the past 30-plus years in Champagne-Urbana, Illinois, they were seeking a warmer climate where they could play golf and avoid shoveling snow. Norm retired from a career as a wealth advisor with Hillard Lyons, while MJ had spent three decades managing research labs at the University of Illinois.
MJ was born in 1934, growing up as one of seven children, four girls and three boys, on a farm in Rock Valley, a community in the northwest corner of Iowa. Her mother was a country school teacher prior to her marriage, but her father had only received an eighth-grade education because he needed to leave school and work on the farm. MJ’s mother had high academic expectations for her children and all seven graduated from college. She valued the life-long benefits of education and passed that along to MJ.
MJ had fond memories of growing up on the farm, where she learned to milk cows at age six and helped pitch hay, straw, silage and manure. She drove work horses and, later, a tractor, fed pigs and hens and gathered eggs. But eventually, her educational pursuits took her to a career in academia.
She attended Wartburg College and the University of Iowa, followed by a long and legendary career as a very dedicated, productive and talented Research Specialist/Lab Manager in several research laboratories at the University of Illinois. For many years, she not only conducted independent research and co-authored scientific papers on breast cancer, hormones and reproductive health; but she trained and “mothered” undergraduates, graduate students and postdoctoral scientists. Although MJ was always busy, she always found time to offer pointers, encouragement or just a humorous commentary on a current frustrating situation. She treated everyone in the lab like family and did her best to ensure their success. After her retirement, MJ continued to follow the career of her Illinois “family members” and found opportunities to provide support and advice when needed.
Norm had a degree in music and after the couple retired to SaddleBrooke, he played the trombone and sang, with MJ organizing his performances. However, they still found time to play golf and go back to Illinois for homecoming weekend or football or basketball games. Friends say they were the only two people who owned and looked GREAT wearing that unique Illini Orange. MJ and Bob were also very generous in their financial support of the University’s academics and athletics.
Prior to her death, MJ donated to the SaddleBrooke Community Outreach Scholarship Endowment Fund. And through her will, she contributed to the science and music departments at the University of Illinois, as well as to the Rock Valley Scholarship Fund named for her parents, Oscar and Emma Miller. Her legacy will live on through the large number of University of Illinois students, colleagues and athletes that were helped by MJ’s positive “can do” attitude and enthusiasm. And on behalf of the students who will benefit from her donations to the SBCO Scholarship Endowment Fund, we honor her memory and the difference she has made in their futures.
