Norma Beeman Harriman

Norma Leah Harriman, 95, of Vidor, died Friday, July 10, 2020. She was born to Stella Dillard Beeman and Roy Beeman on February 15, 1925, in Essex, Missouri.  She retired from Mazur and Vernon Certified Public Accountants in Nederland.

Survivors include her daughters, Gene Williams and her husband, Eugene, of Princeton, Texas and Jane H. Taylor, of Vidor; grandchildren, Natalie M. Lockhart, of Vidor, Randal McConnell Williams of Red Rock AZ and Marilyn Anne Williams of Anna TX; great-grandsons, James P. Bothwell, of Beaumont and Paxton Eugene McCLuskey of Princeton TX; and great-great-grandchildren, Aislyn  Bothwell and Solomon Bothwell  of CA; and her cat, Callie.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 57 years, Mayland Harriman; daughter, Marilyn H. Cribbs; son-in-law, James V. Taylor; and grandson, Adam G. Bothwell.

Several years ago Dementia started stealing Norma’s memory and abilities but before that she was a dynamo! She was super intelligent, creative, talented and accomplished. In her sixties she attended Lamar University and received her Associate’s and Master’s Degrees in English. She subsequently taught English at Lamar in Port Arthur. She would have pursued a doctorate, even in her seventies, if she wouldn’t have had to drive to Houston to do it.

Norma was a great cook and loved to feed her friends and family. Her daughter, Jane, would say “she waited on Daddy hoof and mouth” (instead of hand and mouth) all the years of their marriage even while working full-time by preparing him two or three meals a day most days. She made most things “by scratch” and canned gallons of food through the years. On one vacation in Hawaii she even canned papaya jelly in their hotel room! No one could have ever accused her of being lazy.

When it came to handcrafts she covered all the bases. She sewed, knitted, crocheted, did needlepoint and embroidery, spinning and weaving and painting.  Norma was the queen of repurposing long before that was a term. She was a whiz at creating things out of “nothing.” She loved to write letters to her friends and would often do special birthday poems for them. She had a quick wit and that helped offset the fact that she was “as stubborn as a Missouri mule.” 

Norma traveled to Hawaii many times and to Europe and Egypt twice each, as well as, around the USA. She went on many road trips with her daughter, Marilyn and those were very special to her. She would have still been travelling the world if she hadn’t been changed by Dementia.

She and her husband had a camp on Village Creek and she spent all the time she could there. She loved that place better than any other. The Big Thicket was her little piece of heaven.

Did we mention she was a real tightwad? She was thrifty to a fault because of being a child of the depression and the wife of a spend-thrift. In recent times she would gasp at the price of things because, as we would tease her – “she lived in the 1950’s prices era.” Through the years she helped many people, she was generous with money when needed and always with her assistance and attention. She had outlived most of her friends but she will be missed by those who are left.

Cremation arrangements for Mrs. Harriman will be handled by Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont under the direction of Broussard’s, 1605 North Major Drive, Beaumont.

Memorial contributions may be made to St. John Lutheran Church, 2955 South Major Drive, Beaumont, Texas 77707 or The Humane Society of Southeast Texas, 2050 Spindletop Avenue, Beaumont, Texas 77705.