In Loving Memory of Neal Curtis Beasley

In Loving Memory of
Neal Curtis Beasley
June 30, 1986 - June 22, 2003

The Poet's Thoughts

A poet�s mind is forever
Flowing with emotion.
The words we put on paper
Are filled with much devotion.

Our hearts and soul
Are put within,
Wondering just how
The words will begin.

Pen to paper,
From God is a gift,
To express His words;
Let our minds go adrift.

We deliver a message
For others to read.
One line at a time
And again we proceed.

Sometimes we awake
In the middle of night,
Jump out of bed,
To begin our plight.

We see so much beauty
That others might miss,
As we look all around
To all that exists.

Before the ink dries
God speaks once again
As the poem grows
From the words it contains.

As sure as we feel
The ink about to dry
We know in our hearts
Our words will not die.

~Author~
�Ruth Ann Mahaffey

This is one of Neal's poems. I had it printed on the back of his funeral program.
It is quite amazing he wrote this right before his death.

Neal also wrote a poem about being a wolf, and also his drawing of a wolf won first place at the county fair. So that is why we have some wolf images on Neal's web page.

Thank you to Ann, Mom to Angel Laura, for this beautiful wolf image!

Our Neal

Besides being a wonderful son and brother Neal was an exceptional student and friend. He was a great help to his mother and never complained about babysitting his little brother. Neal would have been a senior at Murray High School, where he had been a Sophomore Officer and had just been elected to be Student Body Officer for his senior year. He was a member of the National Honor Society, a member of the Acapella Choir, a member of the Renaissance Club, a member of the Academic Decathlon Team, and a member of the Thespian Troup. He was active in the school musical and plays and was looking forward to being next year's student director. He won many awards and certificates over the years. He was a prince at his Junior Prom. Neal was extremely artistic and loved to draw and write poetry and stories. He had a poem published in the 2000 edition of "A Celebration of Young Poets."

Below you can read a paper that Neal wrote for school...

My Unsung Hero

An unsung hero is someone who does great things for others and receives little or no recognition. Heroic or not, these actions are great. For this title,
I'd have to give it to my mom. My mom is caring, helpful, intelligent and funny and for all these reasons, she is an unsung hero.

Caring is an aspect of my mom because she always listens to me when I have something to say, even when it's just mindless dribble. When I have some problem, she always listens the whole was through and will help me through the problem. When I had a problem with bullies in elementary, she'd always help me
deal with them through the administration. It's great to have such a caring mother.

Along with the caring deal, she is very helpful. Every time I have some major homework to do, she will help me out, either in answering tough questions
or finding small amounts of information. She has helped my out more times than I can remember, even when she has had some major things to deal with, too.
I remember this one time when I needed a big report and poster due on the ironclad ships of the Civil War. Though I was worrying about it,
I didn't know where to begin, my mom cared enough about me
to do some searching on the internet and found some great websites for me. Without those sites and her help, my report
would have been B.S. and a poor grade for me.

Every time I've gone to do something, my mom has supported me through it. How many times have I done something without my mom's support?
Never. Not once. When I ran for Sophomore Office, tried out for the musical or Thespians, or anything else, she supported what I did. And it's not just me.
She helps out numerous friends of hers, like when her friend was debating whether or not to get another dog, or when someone was considering divorce,
my mom assisted them and supported them through their decision.

Her intelligence is always a great thing. I have this theory: If I don't know it she does. And I have yet to disprove that, (and remember it the next day.)
Back to helping me I go to her if I need help with homework. Even though it has been awhile since she covered this stuff in school, she remembers and helps me.
Earlier this week, for example, I was having problems with my Honors Chemistry homework and the mole. Yet my mom knew a lot of it and told me
how to work it out. Now I've got the mole down pat.

And the greatest of my unsung hero's qualities is her humor. She always looks at life with a bit of humor. Without the usual joke about the neighbors, or her work or whatever not a single one of the previous qualities would be worth crap. Without laughter life is dull and life is never dull around my mom. A little while ago,
after a break up with one guy, she only would cry. But once she got into her usual attitude of life, we don't even remember him most of the time.
And I'm glad I got this trait of hers.

An unsung hero is one to be looked up to, one that does great things and one who brightens the world we live in. And I am glad my mom has the title.
With her traits of care, help, support, intelligence and humor in her persona it is well earned.

Neal's First Formal Dance.

"The Last Birthday Present"

Neal was an exceptional son and person! He was always caring, giving and thoughtful. When it came time to order his class ring during his Junior year, we looked online at the different styles and metals we could choose for the ring. Ever aware of the financial strains of me being a single mom, he picked one of the less expensive styles. When it came to the metal he said "I don't need gold. the cheap metal is fine." I said to him "No you're incredible and you deserve the best." So we ordered the white gold. On one side was his name with the universal drama emblem, since he loved theater and as stated earlier, he was going to be the student director of the school musical in his senior year. On the other side was his graduation year and the Leadership emblem, since he had been a Sophomore Officier and was going to be a Student Body Officier. He chose the Alexdrandite, his birth stone, for the gem and because he was a member of the National Honor Society he was allowed to have it's emblem beneath the stone. You can't see it very well in the picture, but it's there. Neal was very happy and grateful for the ring. When the ring arrived 10 days before his birthday, I decided I'd keep it and surprise him on his birthday. Neal died never seeing his ring. Oh how I regret not giving it to him the day it arrived! I did place it on his finger at his viewing and for the funeral. Then I removed it and placed it back in it's little black velvet box, never to be worn again.

Neal was very popular but not stuck up and he had friends from all the "clicks", jocks, geeks, popular kids, etc etc. He was only a few days away from his 17th birthday, when his life sadly was ended due to AEA, more commonly known as "the choking game." We had over 300 students at his funeral. All his teachers both current and past came, as well as the school administration. One of his teachers delivered his eulogy.
Our Neal is terribly missed.

Here's another poem I love. Neal didn't write it, but I saw it the first time on a necklace that I bought right after Neal died. The necklace only had the first stanza, but the rest of the poem sounds like it is talking to me.
I'm sure I've read it somewhere before but I can't remember where.

If Tears Could Build a Stairway

If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane.
I would walk right up to Heaven
and bring you back again.

No farwell words were spoken.
No time to say "Goodbye".
You were gone before I knew it
and only God knows why.

My heart still aches with sadness
and secret tears still flow.
What it meant to love you-
No one can ever know.
But now I know you want me to mourn for you no more:
To remember all the happy times,
life still has much in store.

Since you'll never be forgotten.
I pledge to you today-
A hollowed place within my heart
is where you'll always stay.

Neal ready to go to his Junior Prom.

And here is Neal's Junior Prom picture. He was so very happy that night. He was with the girl of his dreams.

Neal with Drew at the Zoo. Neal loved his brother! It's important to Drew that he sees this and remembers!!

Neal with Drew at Disneyland.

My Brother
My paper is on my brother, Drew, who is eighteen months old.

Drew is a very special baby. He was born three months premature. He weighed only two pounds and ten ounces. He was in the hospital for seven weeks. Even though he started out small he is doing great now.

Drew is very talkative, although we sometimes can't understand him. We can understand some words, like when he says "sun" it means light, and "dog" and "woof-woof" both mean dog.

He is also very active. He can dance. Well we call it dancing. It's usually just him spinning in a circle or him stamping one of his feet.

Another way he is active is he can run really fast. He likes to run fast when he plays with the cat. He will hold a string and run up and down the hall and the cat will chase the string.

I like to play with Drew. I especially like to tickle him. He laughs and laughs. He's fun to play with all the time. Except when he first wakes up. If you try to play with him when he first wakes up, he gets kind of cranky.

I love my baby brother, and some people say we kind of look alike. I would do just about anything for my baby brother except change his diapers.

By Neal Beasley

Sadly, Neal's brother Drew has joined him in Heaven.

Drew Tyler Beasley

The boys Christmas tree for this year. Both boys loved black. Neal loved black and orange for Murray High. And Drew loved black and red for Mass Effect. The wolf ornament is for Neal. He wrote a poem about a lone wolf, won 1st place in the county fair for his drawing of a wolf and if there was reincarnation wanted to come back as a wolf. The "snowflake" is for Drew. Anyone that knew him, knew this was his favorite word. He would use it as a noun, verb, adjective, whatever to express excitement, humor, anger or just life. I know it will be stolen from the cemetary within a few days, but they need a tree.
Merry Christmas boys! I love you!

This special gift for Angel Neal is from my friend Janet.

Neal at 2 years old, with sunglasses already, and then Neal at 3 years old.

Neal in 9th grade.

The Empty Chair

This picture is from the state choir festival. It was taken just a few months before Neal died. Neal is in the front row, eleventh from the left. It's kind of hard to see him, but this story is about the empty chair on the left. You see this choir was like a family and one of the family was ill, very ill. Danny had cancer and wasn't strong enough to make the trip. He was confined to a wheelchair and wasn't expected to live. Neal told me he wished he could do something, anything to cure Danny. After Neal died I read his journal where he expressed his desire to see Danny well and walking.

About a year after Neal died there was a knock at my door. There was Danny not only alive but walking and cancer free. He came to talk to me about Neal. He told me he had a feeling Neal wanted him to do something. Danny was healthy enough to go on a mission for the LDS Church. He was leaving soon and wanted me to come to his Farewell. For those that don't know what a farewell is let me explain. When a young person leaves for a mission they have a farewell at a church service. Everyone comes and talk and wish the person well. I went and cried all the way the service. You see I can't help but believe that Neal was Danny's guardian angel and he was helping him.

Sunglasses and Smiles
(A poem for Neal)

It's hard to know where to begin
When writing this poem for my friend
There's so many things I want to say
Standing here on this dreaded day

I want to say things to make you all smile
Even if it's just for a little while
Try to remember the good times you had
Think of them and don't be sad

I try to remember the moments we shared
I remember his smile and how much he cared
And of course the sunglasses I'd always steal
Since seventh grade they were a part of Neal

I remember dreading Biology class
But he was always there to help the time pass
Then there was drama with Ms. Gallaway
He always made it fun first thing in the day

When it came to girls he was pretty shy
But we all adored him at Murray High
You couldn't help but like the kid
And everyone at our school did

Now before this poem ends
I'd like to say one last thing to my friend
Neal, I don't know or understand why
Now was the time for us to say good-bye

But even though now we are apart
There's still a place for you in my heart
From you I learned one important thing
To always be happy, no matter what life brings

So just like you, I'll hold my head high
And try my hardest not to cry
I'll stand here today with a smile for you
'Cause wherever you are, I know you're smiling too!

WE LOVE YOU NEAL!!!!
Written by Katrina Pressey, 6/23/03
She read this poem at Neal's funeral.

Neal on his first day of Sophomore year. He's wearing his sweater for being a Sophomore Officer.

This picture is from his Spring Choir trip to Disneyland just a few months before he died. He had a wonderful time with his friends and no mom.

I buried Neal in his favorite clothes, and of course, his sunglasses.

There Is No Goodbye

You're the sunrise in the morning;
You're the star that shines bright in the night;
You're the gentle breeze across our face;
At the darkest times you'r our light;
You're the courage we have to stand tall;
You're the strength to keep our heads held high;
You're the power and will to carry on..
With the love you gave us there are no goodbyes;
Its been so long since you went away;
But we still feel you up from above;
During the hardest times, we know you're there;
Giving us your courage, strength and love.
You're the unspeakable sadness in our eyes;
You're the tears that stream down our cheek;
You're the constant heartache that we feel;
You're the happiness we hope to seek.
We remember all the love we had for you;
On this day we always dread;
But today we forget that horrible time and reminisce...
About the good memories of you instead.
You will always be tucked away;
Deep inside our broken hearts,
But you will never be forgotten or replaced;
Because we can never again be torn apart.
So the next time we feel that gentle breeze;
Or the tears that start to warm our eyes;
We will smile and always remember....
With the love you gave us;
There is no goodbye.
~ Author Unknown

Neal is about 6 years old in this picture. It is one of my favorite pictures of us together. I love his sweet face! We are sitting with his cat Sterling and our dogs Lucky and Kizzy.
Neal loved animals, expecially cats! After Sterling passed away he asked for a kitten for his birthday. That's when he got Tara. I even honored Tara
by putting an image of her on Neal's headstone.

We still have Tara. She's sixteen years old now and going strong. Here she is with Neal's younger brother Drew. She spends most of her time in Drew's room.
When she's not with Drew she sits in the "gaming" chair that Neal used to play video games, that still sits in the room where he slept.

This is a picture of Neal's headstone. The cat on it looks just like his beloved cat Tara.

Neal loved Duct Tape. It started with the Red Green Show and the movie they made about it.
He even made a wallet out of it.

This is a certificate that Neal won posthumously. He beat so many of his classmates in scores,
that he got it even though he didn't get to go to his senior year.

"Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I and you are you.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.

Call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way which you always used; put no difference
in your tone; wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow; laugh, as we always laughed at the little jokes
we enjoyed together; pray, smile, think of me, pray for me; let my name be ever the household word that it always was;
let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it.

Life means all that it ever meant; it is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be
out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near
-- Just around the corner. All is well."

Henry Scott Holland
Canon of St Paul's, London, 1847 - 1918

I read in Neal's journal that if there was reincarnation he wanted to come back as a tiger or a wolf.
So I got a tattoo with the chinese emblems of a tiger and a wolf with his name.

Here is the picture of my tattoo for Neal. The 86 is the year he was born. The 03 is the year he died. I read in his journal that if there was re-incarnation Neal wanted to come back as a tiger or a wolf. He was a tiger according to the Chinese Horoscope years. The top symbol is the tiger (he had this symbol on a chain that he always wore) and the lower is the wolf. The "Neal" is copied from one of the last times he wrote his name "fancy". And the orange and black are the colors of Murray High School, where he went to school and that he loved so much.

Neal's grandfather, Lauren Neal Beasley, who Neal was named after, passed away. There has been a Neal Beasley in every generation for the past 5 generations. Now there isn't.

Dad's ashes are buried with my mom next to Neal's grave.

Then another blow...we had to put Neal's cat, Tara, to sleep. She was almost 19 years old. I had her cremated and spread her ashes over Neal's grave. They made me a paw print.

These three special gifts for Angel Neal are from my friend Marie.
You can visit her website for her son Rob here ~ Rob Northrop's Site.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF ANGEL NEAL

These are two beautiful and loving gifts to Angel Neal from my dear friend, Carol, mom to Angel Michael.

A small gift for Neal's family from one grieving parent to another. God bless you.
GEOFFREY P. EDWARDS

My Dear MeLinda and ANGEL Neal

Stars are the Windows To HEAVEN
Where our ANGEL'S PEEK THROUGH
One of those Windows
Belongs to ANGEL Neal
Open your HEART MeLinda
He is there
He will give you a soft wave
Of his hand
And that gentle smile Of his
When GOD calls you HOME, MeLinda
Your ANGEL Neal
Will be waiting at those GOLDEN GATES
FOR YOU

Written By Sue-Anne Aguilera~~~Lee'sMom
MY DEEPEST LOVE MELINDA