Leona 'Beanie' McGraw
RAINELLE — "Her children rise up and call her blessed, her husband also and he praises her." Leona "Beanie" McGraw, 69, of Rainelle, went home to be with her Lord, on Saturday, April 16, 2011, following a long illness.
Born Feb. 24, 1942, in Glasgow, W.Va., she was the daughter of the late Wilford and Alma G. Holstein Perry.
Other than her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Carmel and Kenneth Perry, and a son, Herman McGraw.
Beanie had always worked in the service industry, which included cookin' and waitressing at Mary's Restaurant and the 24-Hour Lunch in Rainelle. Her job didn't end when she clocked out. She came home to four beautiful children and her husband, where she tended to everyone's need. Beanie was blessed with 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. If you said she spent her retirement years in the rocking chair, it would only be true when it came to rocking her granbabies to sleep. She enjoyed taking long drives across the mountains with her husband, and tending to her flowers in the Spring. Nothing made her happier than her family and seeing their accomplishments.
Those left to cherish her memory are her husband, Rodney A. McGraw of Rainelle; two daughters, Vanessa McGraw of Rainelle, Cheri Perry and husband, Scott, of Bonham, Texas; a son, Ben McGraw and wife, Wendy, of Rainelle; 12 grandchildren, Amanda (Gale) of Rainelle, Casey Butler (Krista) of Rupert, Corey Butler of Rainelle, Calia, Summer, Myka and Scott Perry II of Texas, Ryleigh McGraw of Rainelle, Bobbi Jo, Lynee and Travis McClung of Quinwood, and Maidson McGraw of Quinwood; four great-grandchildren, Lydia and Gale Reed III of Rainelle, Kaselynn and Memphis Butler of Rupert; a sister, Janet McClung of Strongsville, Ohio; five brothers, Ralph Perry and wife, Shirley, of Grundy, Va., James Perry of Akron, Ohio, Mike Perry and wife, Joy, of Corliss, W.Va., Dennis Perry of Cokeville, Texas, and Jerry Perry of Bonham, Texas.
She leaves behind a legacy of love that will live forever in the lives of those left to cherish her memory. We will miss her laugh, her strength, and we can't leave out her cookin'. Her family will continue to give God the praise for the 69 years he lent this beautiful woman to them.