In Memoriam 1992-1997/Patti Thomas Beane

PATTI THOMAS BEANE

1902—1996

atti Thomas Beane was born in

Richmond, Virginia, on June 2, 1902, the youngest in a family of seven girls and a halfbrother. Her father died a year after her birth, and the family moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Two years later her mother died, and she was raised by her older sisters who instilled in her their mother’s values of the importance of comportment and education.

At age fifteen Patti entered the Christianburg Normal and Industrial Institute, a work-study school in Cambria, Virginia. Graduating five years later, she was awarded a scholarship to the Cheyney Training School for Teachers in Cheyney, Pennsylvania, From which she received her teaching certificate in 1925.

Patti’s first teaching position was in a two—room schoolhouse in Port Deposit, Maryland. Later she went to New York City, where she worked at the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and attended Hunter College. During the Depression she taught in Glassboro, New Jersey.

In 1937 she married James Beane in New York City, and during World War [1 she worked as an adjudicator for the War Department in Newark, New Jersey.

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Patti 7/";sz Beane

In 1949, after much study and prayer, Patti was enrolled in the Bahá’í Faith by the Spiritual Assembly of New York City. In 1954 she responded to the call For pioneers and went first to Colombia, then to Peru. Her husband joined her there a year later. In March 1957 they were members of the first Spiritual Assembly of Arequipa, assisting the efforts of Eve Nicklin, the first pioneer to Peru (1941).

Patti and James moved to Chiclayo in the northern part of the country, where they founded an English academy. Patti recalled that the people were so eager to learn that many of the students came to classes as early as 6:00 AM. Because of the distances they needed to travel, some resided at the school during the week.

Patti had the fortune to travel to London for the First World Congress in 1963, and in 1964 she participated in a teaching trip along the Amazon River to villages in Peru, Colombia, and Brazil.

She and James remained in Peru for fourteen years before returning to the

United States and settling in Lincroft, New Jersey. They maintained contact with their “Peruvian family,” some of whom traveled and settled in the United States. In her seventies, Patti worked as a substitute teacher and as a home health aide. She was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Middletown Township, taught Bahá’í children’s classes, and hosted many meetings. Every Monday evening for many years, prayer meetings were held at her home. Those Who knew her remember her all—encompassing love, affection, and warmth.

In 1989 at the age of eighty—seven and despite physical restrictions, Patti made her pilgrimage to the Bahá’í World Centre accompanied by her friends Paul and Betty Turko. Afterwards she would often recall her meeting with Counsellor Magdalene Carney and Magdalene’s request that Patti hold firesides in her name. Patti also attended the Second World Congress in New York City in 1992.

In her later years, Patti moved to Red Bank, New Jersey, where she worked as a volunteer for the Red Bank Senior Center, the American Red Cross, the Office on Aging, and Red Bank Social Services. Even into her nineties Patti was hard at work helping senior citizens. In 1989 the local branch of the National Council of Negro Women honored her with its first Mahala Fiel Atchison Award for her “undying dedication to serving others through education and spiritual enlightenment . . . Indeed, Mrs. Beane is a true humanitarian, role model and inspiration to us all.” This award was accompanied by a Citation by US Congressman Frank I’allone Jr. for “her outstanding contributions to the community as a teacher, missionary and a truly dedicated volunteer with the Red Cross.”

James died in 1982, and her only remaining family was comprised of nieces

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and nephews. Though she never had children of her own, many who knew her came to love her as a mother or grandmother.

Patti Beane passed away on June 28, 1996, at age ninety—four. On June 30, the Universal House of Justice cabled the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States:

DEEPLY SADDENED NEWS PASSING PATTI BEANE, LOYAL, DEVOTED MAIDSERVANT BAHA’U’LLAH. HER HIGHLY ACTIVE Bahá’í LIFE DISTINGUISHED BY MANY YEARS PIONEERING ALONG WITH HER HUSBAND TO PERU IN RESPONSE BELOVED GUARDIAN‘S TEN YEAR WORLD CRUSADE. HER HIGH SENSE SERVICE, RADIANT PERSONALITY, GENEROUS SPIRIT WARMLY AND GRATEFULLY REMEMBERED. PRAYING ARDENTLY HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER SOUL THROUGHOUT DIVINE WORLDS.

Adaptedfrom an article by Pdtricz'a M Wlayte and an essay by Boris Hamid! Morale: