Beatrice Ballew

Beatrice Elizabeth Walters was born December 15, 1913 in Rexburg, Idaho. She was the daughter of William S. Walters and Nellie Edith Straw Walters. She had two younger brothers, Gerald (Bud) and Howard. She also had an older half-sister, Edith Young, and half-brother, Gene Young. Bea spent much of her young life in Rexburg and Idaho Falls. She had fond memories of visiting her aunt and uncle in Hamilton, Montana during that time. When Bea was nine, the family moved to Jackson to work for Sy Ferrin on the Elk Ranch. She and Bud and Howard had great times playing in the open spaces there. Howard was several years younger than Bea, and she took care of him a lot. She remembered how bad the flies were. A fire was kept burning in the front doorway, so the smoke would keep the flies out of the cabin. Winters were winter then, and there was no scarcity of snow. Bea's father became ill, and ranch life was too difficult, so they moved back to Idaho Falls. When Bea was thirteen, her father died and her life changed. Times became very hard. They moved back to Jackson so her mother could cook for Sy Ferrin on the Elk Ranch. When they arrived, they found out Sy had sold the ranch and there was no job. The family then went to Salt Lake so Nell could go to beauty school. During that time Bea learned how to cut hair. Throughout their lives, Bea always cut Bud's hair. Howard Walters wouldn't allow her to cut his. He was probably clipper-shy from her practicing on him! They returned to Jackson and opened the Bea Beauty Shop on the south side of the Square. They lived in one room in the back of the shop and carried their water from the Crabtree Hotel. Bea completed her freshman year of high school then quit so she could help support the family. Besides cutting hair, she worked at the Richmond Hotel and also waited tables. She made a dollar a day waiting tables and once in a great while would receive a ten-cent tip. She also worked at the White Grass and Bar B-C dude ranches and at Gabby's near String Lake. On October 6, 1934, Bea and Howard Ballew were married in Livingston, Montana. They had three children, Beverly Jo, William Arthur, and Barbara Jean. For the most part, Bea also raised her two oldest grandchildren, Dan and Connie Coons. Their brother, Kevin Neumeyer, spent a great deal of time at Bea's home, too. In 1935, times were tough. Howard and Bea leased Millcrest and tried to make a living renting cabins to the few tourists who came into the valley at that time. Beverly was a baby, and Bea would walk a couple of miles up Horsetail Creek to Bing and Eunice Connor's place to get milk for her. She did this every other day. They couldn't afford the gas to use the car for this. She ironed all the sheets used in the cabins with a gas iron. She would iron outside under the trees where it was cooler. Bill was born prematurely; he weighed 2 pounds 14 ounces. In those days, that was a mighty small baby. Dr. Huff made a makeshift incubator out of a box and light bulbs. Bill had to be fed every two hours around the clock, and the room had to be kept warm night and day. Needless to say, Bea got very little rest. She also had 18-month-old Beverly to care for. Millcrest didn't work out, so Howard became caretaker at the Startled Doe up Camp Creek. In the winter they lived in the 2-room cabin. In the summer they lived in a homemade trailer house farther up Camp Creek, or across the Hoback River about a mile or so from Camp Michigan. Howard hunted coyotes and trapped beaver during the winter and was gone before dawn until after dark. Bea did many of the chores. Water had to be carried in from the spring, and wood had to be chopped and brought into the house. They were snowed in, so Bea was pretty isolated. They did have a partyline telephone, but it wasn't working right. Bea would ring the operator, who would then automatically connect her with her brother, Bud Walters. He was the only one who could understand what Bea was saying, so she couldn't use the phone to visit with friends or her mother in Jackson. Bea really watched pennies and more or less made do or did without. This trait was so deeply engrained in her that she found it hard to spend money or get something new, even in her later life. She sewed, and no project was too big or unusual for her. She was the world's best recycler before it became popular. She made pants, shirts, coats, and more for the children from discarded adult clothing. She recovered many ragged and worn eiderdown coats and made them look like new again. She reupholstered the furniture in the living room several times. When it was time for Beverly to start school, the family moved to Jackson and rented a house from Ray and Nellie Reed. Barbara was born then. After a couple of years, they moved to the house on Kelly Street and Bea worked hard making and keeping a nice yard. She dug up little trees and brought them home and planted them. She mowed a huge yard with a push mower; it would take her two days. She had a garden for a while, had lots of flowers, and even raised chickens for a short time. In the early morning hours in the winter, she would chop kindling and fire up the coal furnace so the house would be cozy warm when the rest of the family got up. Bea was very kind, gentle, and compassionate. She loved children, and they knew it. She had a special way with them. Many children and some adults called her Aunt Bea or Gram. She was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She taught in Primary for many years, was a counselor in the Primary presidency, played the piano in Primary, and was luncheon chairman for two Relief Society presidents. When she was in her mid-eighties, she went to the Idaho Falls Temple. Bea was always there when her children came home from school, where she would have a snack and something to drink waiting. For years, Bea was involved with Girl Scout camp as the cook. She also made many Christmas wreaths for the girls to sell. She was a Cub Scout leader, too. She liked to square dance, and she and Howard spent several years enjoying that activity. She made the dresses for the women and trimmed the shirts for the men in their square dance square. They looked classy. Mann and Vi McCain, Bud and Blendine Walters, Connie and May Ethel Schweiring, and Bea and Howard danced together as a square. Several couples from Jackson attended square dance festivals in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming, and they had a good time. It certainly kept the cabin fever at bay. She was John Wayne's corner, in a square dance, in one of the old movies filmed in Jackson. Bea worked at the B&W Market for a time and enjoyed the people she worked with. For a short while, the B&W had a little mini-mart at the sound end of town. Bea was working alone there one day when a customer reached in the till when the drawer was open and said she was going to bless the money. Bea slammed the drawer on the customer's hand. We would be afraid to do that today. When a car was available, Bea would load it up with kids and take them huckleberry picking. It wouldn't be long before Bill's face was purple from eating most of what he picked. Bea didn't mind. She loved the outdoors and, when she was younger, enjoyed taking walks, looking for mushrooms or unusual rocks. She also enjoyed taking rides all over the valley. She had excellent eye sight and could spot wildlife, even when she was doing the driving. Her kids would tease her about having such an eagle eye. She loved to camp and enjoyed sitting around the campfire in the evenings. Bea and Carrie Schwab took many drives in the evening. When Bea and Beverly left for a short drive, the family knew they wouldn't show up for hours. They always tried to be home before dark. One time they wound up in Pinedale. Bea belonged to the sewing club for several years; she also liked to quilt with the Relief Society sisters. Bea cherished her great-grandsons. She had a great interest in their activities and well-being. When Michael and Robert Hurley were small, they had the opportunity of being with Gram several times a week. Because it was difficult for Bea to get around, they did most of their activities at the dining room table. They colored, cut and pasted, played games, put puzzles together, read, practiced their numbers and letters, learned phonics, and had a great time doing it. What a jump start for them in school! Bea was preceded in death by her brothers, and sister, her husband, Howard, her son, Bill; and her son-in-law, Hank Pratt. She is survived by her daughters, Barbara Neumeyer and Beverly Pratt; her grandson, Dan Coons; granddaughter, Connie Hurley, and her sons, Michael and Robert; grandson, Kevin Neumeyer; granddaughter Janet Pratt; grandson, Dale Pratt and his wife, Valerie Hegstrom, and their sons, Sam and Jesse Hegstrom-Oakey, William Pratt and Joseph Hegstrom Pratt; and several nieces and nephews. Services will be on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 11:00 A.M. at the L.D.S. Church house in Jackson. The family will receive friends an hour prior to the service.

---