Charlene J. Bean

Published 5:17 pm Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Memorial services for Charlene Johnson Bean of Selma will be at 11 a.m. Dec. 19 at Westwood Baptist Church, 4085 Highway 80 West, Selma, AL. Visitation will be at 10 a.m. at the church. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Selma Animal Hospital Humane Society No. 2 fund, 501 Cahaba Rd, Selma, AL 36701, would be appreciated. Tuscaloosa Memorial is directing. Online condolences may be made at tuscaloosamemorial.com.

Mrs. Bean died at her home Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014, but that’s only her earthly home, because while Heaven is her new home, her spirit lives on in the lives of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and all those “Bean babies” she raised over the decades.

For most of her years in Selma, Charlene was known as Dick Bean’s wife. Dick, formally known as Richard Smith Bean, was a force not only in Selma’s education, communications and emergency management systems, but throughout south Alabama. He was a man loved as deeply as anyone could be loved by his wife. He was her anchor in the ups and downs of life. She was his “Char.” She was the force behind “Granddaddy” and that was how it was for the 52 years they were married until his death in 2007.

For those who never met Charlene Bean look no further than the dozens of children she raised beginning in 1977 to understand her. She not only helped working parents with their children, she did the same thing with those parents not  hesitating to tell them when they needed to change what they were doing. That growing-up style produced healthy, disciplined, and loved children.  She opened her home much longer than she wanted too, but parents who knew of her begged her to take their babies. She could not refuse.

Charlene Bean was born on June 15, 1932 in Alton, Iowa, to Artie (Huisman) Johnson and Helmer Johnson. She was also preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Katherine Raye Sharp Bean.

Surviving are her four children Kristina (Tom) Whaley of Mesquite, Nev.; Shirley Ross of Selma, Karen (Mark) Robertson of Gainesville, Ga.; and Frank (Nancy) Bean of Montgomery; her siblings Mary Lou Brewer, Richard Johnson, Robert Johnson, Joan Still, and Donnie Johnson.

She is also survived by nine grandchildren Kari Ann English (Tom) Egan and Ryan English, all of New Jersey; Joshua Powers of Oregon and Naomi Powers of Colorado; Angela Ross (Mike) Vasquez of Japan; Jason (Danielle) Robertson of  Virginia, Jennifer Robertson  (Kyle) Henson of North Carolina; Richard (Glenda) Bean of Florida; Rachel Bean (Grant) Dinehart of Alabama; and Drew A. Maute of  Mississippi and  great-grandchildren Katelin and Tommy Egan; Emily, Elijah, Ezekiel and Elisha Vasquez; Charity, Autumn and Elijah Robertson; Eliya and Simeon Mason and  Riley Henson; Victoria Blankenship, Franklin and Jordan Bean; Zoie, Grant Jr, Della, Edgar, Lilly and Wrigley Dinehart.

“I’ve known Charlene Bean, or Bean as I called her for many years. You see, her first “Bean baby” was my daughter 37 years ago and in the beautiful Charlene Bean process Drew went from Godchild to Grandchild.

There are dozens of “Bean babies” out there now raising their own babies who remember the lessons they learned at her house. What better legacy could she have?”

  –Nikki Davis Maute