Loretta May (Cahoon) Beckman

Loretta May Beckman, 97, died peacefully on September 18, 2023 at Knife River Care Center, Beulah, ND surrounded by her family. Services will be held at 10:30 AM CDT on Saturday, September 23, 2023 at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Center, ND with Pastor Dennis Ristvedt and Pastor Kay Asche officiating. Burial will follow at St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery, Center.

Visitation will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 PM CDT on Friday, September 22 at Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah.

Loretta was born on April 27, 1926 at the family farm in Oliver County to Martin and Eva (Stanley) Cahoon. She married Wilbert Beckman on April 21, 1946. Together they farmed for 67 years in the Hannover area. Loretta moved to Senior Suites in Hazen in 2018 and then to Knife River Care Center in 2021.

Loretta attended a country school in Pleasant Valley until the eighth grade, which she always said she enjoyed. She learned at a young age to work hard and she continued that throughout her life. She was an excellent cook and always raised a garden that she said each spring “wasn’t going to amount to much”. However, at the end of the season she always had a bounty of produce for the winter to feed her family and always more to share. Loretta’s one-liners and wit were priceless. If you wanted to keep a straight face, you didn’t want to look at Loretta’s smirk. Loretta had a very kind heart and never stopped loving her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Babies lit up her face right up until the end.

Loretta is survived by her children, Clayton (Irene) Beckman, Marvin (Royann) Beckman, Bev (Ron) Thompson, Mavis (Gordon) Leingang and Gary (Janet) Beckman; her grandchildren, Chris (Tonia) Thompson, Kelly (Jodi) Beckman, Matthew (Miranda) Beckman, Dustin (Allison) Thompson, Jenna (Jacob) Elgin, Trevor (Katie) Beckman, Tyler (Ashley Olson) Leingang; 15 ½ great-grandchildren; one sister-in-law, Bonnie Cahoon; and many nieces and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her husband Wilbert, who passed in 2013; her parents, Martin and Eva; her siblings, Ethel (Cliff) Benjamin, Melvin, Darhl (Pearl), and Calvin Cahoon; and numerous nieces and nephews.

And as Loretta always said with a big smile when leaving from a visit, “Now don’t forget me!”.

Arrangements are conducted by Barbot Funeral Home, Beulah and Hazen.

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