NORMAN — Paul “Sonny” Beesley Jr., 46, of Norman, beloved son, brother, father, photographer and file maker, died Thursday, Dec. 6, 2012, in Oklahoma City unexpectedly. Sonny was born Aug. 5, 1966, to Paul and Earlene (Parker) Beesley in Baltimore.
Services will be 2 p.m. Monday at W.P. Wood Almuni Center at Tecumseh High School, with Dr. Bradley Walck, Sean Haffner and Eric Newendorp officiating. Burial will follow at Tecumseh Cemetery, under the direction of Cooper Funeral Home in Tecumseh.
Sonny was a blessed gift and a source of joy to his family and to the wide circle of friends and colleagues touched by his life.
Sonny attended elementary schools in Moore before moving to Washington and Dibble High School, where he played all sports, especially football for his father, Paul Beesley Sr. He graduated from Moore High School in 1985. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1990 with a degree in journalism. From 1991 to 2001, he served as a news photographer at OETA, KFOR and KOCO. In 1993, he earned an Emmy for the documentary “Faces of AIDS.”
Those remaining to cherish the memory of Sonny’s life are his children Hannah, Jack and Will and their mother, Stephanie Beesley, all of Norman; mother, Earlene Parker of Tahlequah; parents Paul Beesley Sr. and Francy Beesley of Oklahoma City; siblings Cindi Finneran-Reeves and husband Charlie Reeves of Norman, Amy and husband Maj. Mike Nelson of San Diego, Mariah Shanahan of Eugene, Ore., and Bradley Beesley of Austin, Texas; grandmother, Margaret Parker of Tecumseh; cousins Bambi Kilgore of Coweta, Robin and Scott Hurley of Edmond, Kelly and Marilynn Beesley of Dallas, John Charles McMahan of Edmond, Mariah and Chad Munn of Shawnee and Carly Danker of Shawnee; aunts and uncles John and Candace Beesley of Dallas, Stanley and Dr. Denise Beesley of Norman, Martha and Tony Vaughan of Choctaw, John Nider of Oklahoma City, Charles and Susan Nider of Choctaw, Wayne and Mary Gosney of Yukon, Gloria Dowling of Edmond and Billie Sue Byers of Yukon; nieces and nephews Kaylee, Ian and Alice Finneran of Norman and Justin Nelson of San Diego; great-niece, Addie Grigsby; great-nephew, Parker Gasiewiecz; and a host of friends.
A musical tribute for Sonny will be from 12:30 to 4 p.m. today at The Deli in Norman.
Sonny will be laid to rest near his grandmother, the late Margaret Quait Beesley, at Tecumseh Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 1 to 7 p.m. today and will continue through the service time.
To share memories or to sign the guestbook online, go to www.cooperfuneral.com.
Norman Transcript, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2012
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