Reva Lee Bean

Reva Lee (Shearon) Bean, 95, of Dexter, MO passed away peacefully on Friday, November 23, 2018, at River Bluff Nursing Home in Loves Park, Illinois. She was born June 18, 1923, in Frisco, MO, the daughter of Terry and Opal (Joseph) Shearon. She had one younger sister, Wantona Margarett, who tragically died in a train accident in 1941. Reva married Wallace Gayle Bean of Dexter, MO on November 23, 1939. Gayle Bean passed away in Rockford on May 19, 2014 and is buried in Dexter Cemetery.
Reva grew up on a farm outside of Frisco during the Great Depression and attended high school at Dexter High. When she was 14 years old, she met the love of her life, Wallace Gayle Bean, at a box supper. Both came with a friend and became partners for the cake walk. When Gayle’s friend won, the four went to Gayle’s car and ate the cake together. Reva was impressed that he was so handsome and had a car. Gayle thought Reva was beautiful. The next day, Gayle sent a note with his younger sister Ruth who was the same age as Reva. That began a love story that lasted 80 years.
Two years later, at ages 16 and 19, Reva and Gayle Bean married in Piggott, AR on November 23, 1939. It was Thanksgiving Day, and the two eloped across the state border, because Reva’s father Terry wouldn’t sign for his daughter to marry under age. Two kids, full of hope and love, exchanged vows on that day, 1939.
In the following years, they lived through World War II where Gayle was wounded in France. He survived the Normandy Invasion and later liberated the concentration camps. Reva did her part for the war by being a Rosie the Riveter, working on airplane wings in a factory in Detroit.
They moved to Detroit five years after the war for work and built a wonderful life in Trenton, Michigan for almost 35 years. They raised their daughter Gale Lee and welcomed their granddaughter Lara Catherine into their home and hearts. Reva and Gayle gave Gale Lee and Lara all the love, care, and training in the Lord’s ways that they needed for life.
After Gayle retired, they returned to Dexter in the 1980’s to care for Reva’s parents and stayed for the duration of their active lives. They enjoyed traveling with their Airstream trailer, forming many happy memories and loving people along the way.
Reva’s and Gayle’s last seven years were difficult, but they persevered in the same way they did during the Great Depression and the War - with a love for God and others, and with a joyful heart that longed for heaven. Gayle preceded Reva in death in 2014, leaving her home but not her heart.
Exactly 79 years after they married, on November 23, 2018, Reva passed away, entering heaven and rejoining her love for eternity.
Reva is survived by her daughter, Gale Lee (James) Blechschmidt; her granddaughter, Lara Catherine Helmling; her grandson, Matthew Louis (Katherine) Blechschmidt, and her great-grandson, Lliam Lake Leosh. She is predeceased by her husband of 74 years, Wallace Gayle, her parents, and her sister, Wantona Margarett Shearon.
Visitation and gravesite services will be held on Saturday, December 1, 2018, at Rainey-Mathis Funeral Home, Dexter MO. Visitation will be from 9:00-10:00 A.M., followed by the gravesite service at Dexter Cemetery, Dexter, MO. Share online condolences at www.fitzgeraldfh.com.