Nellie Elizabeth BeasleyOctober 26, 1911February 8, 2017Nellie Elizabeth Meyers Beasley, a longtime resident of Reno, passed away peacefully on February 8, 2017, in Modesto, California. Nellie was born on October 26, 1911, in Laramie, Wyoming, to Henry and Elizabeth Meyers. She was the third of four children, and the first daughter, but she was such a tomboy that her father nicknamed her "Jimmy." She was always a hard worker, beginning on the family's cattle ranch. She rode horseback on round-ups, camped out and herded cattle. As a teenager, she worked in a local laundry. When she moved to Reno in the mid 1930s, she worked at "Pop" Southworth's tobacco store, where she once berated a man for sitting in the front window all day reading magazines for free, only to learn he was on a stakeout for the FBI. She also worked at Herz's jewelry store. During World War Two she worked at Reno Air Products as a "Rosie the Riveter," and was proud to have served her country in that capacity. She also worked for many years at the Town and Country Bowl on Virginia Street, retiring from there in the mid 1970s. In the late 1940s she was asked to teach a bowling class to the girls at Reno High, and thus began a decades-long love of teaching children the game. Fellow bowler Ginny Young would like to include the following: "Many of the Greater Reno Area bowlers can boast three generations or more in one family of being one of 'Nellie's Kids.' For many years she taught 'her kids' every Friday night to a full house of 96 at the old Town and Country Bowl. Who could forget being taught the four-step approach from the right side of the alley and throwing the ball over the second arrow? If you didn't follow this directive you didn't receive any score. And if the ball was dropped too often, the 'dreaded towel' appeared (rolled up to mark the beginning of the lane). To get a hug and a smile of encouragement or praise from Nellie was all it took to try harder and compete more effectively. Her teaching techniques and style were legendary. No bumpers allowed! She knew she could produce the bowler in all of us, including those who were blind and wheelchair bound. Most of the junior bowling tournaments were dominated by Nellie's Kids. Our area has truly lost an extraordinary teacher and coach." As her family, we can attest to her love of her second career as a bowling coach. She truly loved each child, regardless of ability, and loved them as if they were her own. Nellie competed in more than 60 national tournaments and was inducted into the National Women's Bowling Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2007, she was honored by the University of Nevada, Reno for her contribution to girls' and women's sports at a Salute to Champions Dinner. She was also known for her joke telling -- just enough off-color to be funny, but never offensive. As friend Alexis Howes said, "She is always making jokes. If I'm having a bad game or something, she makes me forget it by saying, 'Did you forget your teeth today?'" When Nellie's mother passed away in Wyoming in 1936, she assumed the responsibility of raising her niece, Mary "Mickey" Meyers (Cardozo). Nellie was only 24, single, and working in Reno. This was during the Depression and times were tough, but Nellie did this by herself until 1941, when she married her one true love, Bud Beasley. They met on a softball field; he as the new coach and she as the starting second baseman. Noting that she wore a white shirt, with her white pants sharply creased and her hair perfectly styled, Bud assumed she couldn't play and assigned her to play the outfield. When she told him she didn't know how to play out there, he told her to "watch and you will soon learn." So Nellie stood firmly rooted in one spot in the outfield and "watched" the balls go by. Bud soon learned her real position was second base, and that she was stubborn! After that error was corrected, Nellie traveled with her team, barnstorming in the Northwest and Canada, even doing a credible job playing against a men's team. As a married couple, Nellie and Bud opened their home to many children whose circumstances necessitated a change of environment, including many young relatives. They were all given the love and guidance they needed to become successful adults. As the children of Mickey Cardozo, we will be forever grateful that Nellie assumed guardianship of our mother and raised her with such unconditional love. When her "Beasley Dear" passed away in 2004, after 63 years of marriage, she was devasted, but she continued to live alone in their Reno home until 2012, when an injury necessitated her moving to Modesto to be near family. She lived at Stratford Assisted Living, where they provided excellent care and genuine love, and she enjoyed nearly daily visits from family. One of her favorite things to do was to get a milkshake and head for the Sierra foothills east of Modesto. Having grown up on Wyoming cattle land and living in the high desert of Reno for 75 years, she never stopped asking questions about the foothills' surrounding farmland, which was so foreign to her. She always wanted to learn more, a trait she learned from Beasley Dear. Nellie is predeceased by her parents, two brothers, Henry and Earl Meyers, and one sister, Mary Meyers, her husband, Bud Beasley, and by many nieces and nephews. She is survived by her nephews Kenneth (Lucille) Meyers, of Yakima, WA, and Robert Meyers of Casa Grande, AZ, and Bud's niece Dawn (Jim) Harrold and nephew, Lonnie Partlow, both of Santa Cruz, CA, and many great nieces and nephews, great-great nieces and nephews, and one great-great-great nephew. She also leaves behind great nieces and nephew Diane (Paul) Aiello, of Riverbank, CA, Katherine Cardozo, of Rocklin, CA, Russell (Elizabeth) Cardozo and Janice Cardozo-Webber, both of Modesto, CA. Nellie was truly one of a kind and a force of nature! We were all blessed to have had her in our lives, and are better people for having known and loved her, and being greatly loved in return. She will be deeply missed. A memorial for Nellie will be limited to family. Her ashes will be scattered, along with her beloved Beasley Dear's, in the Sierra Nevada mountains that they loved so much and that gave them memories that lasted a lifetime.