Marvin “Pop” Beene, age 94, peacefully passed away Monday, Dec. 12, at his home in the arms of his son. The family will be celebrating his life of 94 years, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 16, at Melton-Kitchens Funeral Home. Graveside service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Hart Cemetery.
Marvin was born June 24, 1922, to Walter Beene and Foy Cooper in Abilene, Texas. He was the eldest of three boys, Royce Beene and Warren Beene. In 1935, his father purchased land that is located 10 miles south of Breckenridge that is still known as the “Beene family home place.” He went to work for Three C’s Camp in Skull Creek, Colorado, and moved to New Mexico when he had the opportunity to train to be a fire fighter.
After six months, he moved to Dallas and attended an air-craft school to learn to work on airplanes. After finishing school, he moved to San Diego, Cali., to build PB2Y3s and B24s at Consolidation Air Craft.
This is where he met the love of his life, Mildred Weir. They married Nov. 13, 1943. One year later, he was drafted into the Navy. He served for two years in the military until he was honorably discharged in 1946. They moved around to several locations but later returned to San Diego where they had their first son, Robert Burke Beene, in 1948, and their second son, Jerry Martin Beene, in 1949.
He joined the Masonic Lodge in Fort Worth in 1955 and last year he received his honorary 60 year pin.
He moved his family to Cleburne, in 1956, in order to start a dairy business and soon relocated it back to the “Beene family home place” in 1958. Two years later the business was sold and he moved his family to Houston. He resided there for eleven years, where he worked as a lead man pipefitter for Todd’s Shipping Yard and Brown and Root.
His final move was back to the “Beene family home place” in 1982 to open the Buckaroo Bakery with his youngest son, Jerry.
They served the Breckenridge community for 30 years. After retiring from the bakery, he still came in to see his regular loyal coffee drinkers, friends, and eat a sausage biscuit. He loved making peanut brittle and was told by many that it tasted like their grandmother’s or mother’s recipe. Over his lifetime, he made many friends and many of those friends became more like his “family” and called him Pop. But all his grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren, called him “GrannyPa”.
We were truly blessed to have had this wonderful, extraordinary, one-of-a-kind man in our life. He was a man of few words but when he spoke it was pure wisdom with a twist of his witty sense of humor.
He was proud of the Beene family name and always encouraged his family to honor it and represent it well. Our family is very blessed and thankful that God allowed us to have him in our lives, but his work here on earth is done and God was ready to take him home. He will always be missed and loved by everyone.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Foy Beene; loving wife, Mildred Weir Beene; son, Jerry Martin Beene; and one brother Royce Beene.
He is survived by his son Robert Beene of Breckenridge Texas; his brother Warren Beene of Livingston, and daughter-in-law Barbara Beene of Breckenridge; two granddaughters, Terryl Beene Atkinson and husband Mike of Granbury, and Cherilyn Beene Morton and husband Martie of Crosby; two grandsons, Daryl Beene and wife Desiree of Baytown and Justin Kostura of Abilene; eight great-grandchildren, Braxton Beene Walker and fiancee Lorena Araujo, Bailee Hill, Bryce Hill, Elizabeth Thurman Perez and husband Tristan, Samantha Thurman, Brodee Atkinson, Cole Morton and Callie Morton; three great-great-grandchildren, Blaire Walker, Summer Walker and upcoming arrival Carter Perez.
Memorial donations may be made to, Autism Speaks, Breckenridge Masonic Lodge or Meals on Wheels.