Bessie Moreland

Bessie Thompson Moreland, 95, of Granger, died February 22, 2022 in Granger, Indiana.  She was born November 12, 1926 in Spokane, WA.  Bessie was preceded in death by her parents, Benjamin and Lilly Thompson (nee’ Hansen), twin sister Hazel Wilks, sister Thelma Harder, brother Ben Thompson, half-brother William Stadelman and her husband of 49 years, James T. Moreland. 

 

Bessie grew up in rural eastern Washington in a small community outside of Spokane, WA known as Pleasant Prairie.  She attended a two-room school house, heating lunch on the wood burning stove and playing baseball with her classmates.  Bessie graduated from West Valley High School in Spokane and graduated from Eastern Washington University with a BA in Education.  She was actively involved in campus activities and inducted into the honorary Tawanka Society. Upon graduation she elected to delay her teaching career in order to see the world.  She accepted a position as an airline stewardess with then Pacific Northern Airlines in Anchorage, AK.  There she met her husband, James Moreland, of Howe, Oklahoma and they were married in April 1951.  Her life with Mr. Moreland included a journey throughout the United States as his career took them to Chicago, IL, Washington D.C., Milwaukee, WI, Las Vegas, NV, San Francisco, CA and Springfield, IL.  Bessie embraced each transfer with a sense of adventure and insuring that each place was home.  She pursued her love of math by teaching junior high students in both Chicago and San Francisco. When her husband retired they moved to Poteau, OK and she became actively involved in The First United Methodist Church of Poteau, The Garden Club, The 20^th Century Club, the Hospital Auxiliary, Red Hat Society, the 1913 Study Club and a board member of the Buckley Public Library.   As the years progressed she moved one last time to Mishawaka, IN to be closer to her daughter and the light of her life – her two grandchildren.   She became involved with The First Methodist Church of Mishawaka, the Harris library book club and the “knitting mafia” – a wonderful group of ladies who enjoyed visiting and knitting every Monday.  She was an avid basketball fan and could hold her own in any Final Four basketball pool – especially if her favorites Gonzaga and Duke were playing.

Survivors include her daughter, Susan Moreland Bartush and Joe Bartush, her two grandchildren, Katie and Andrew Bartush of San Antonio, TX and Indianapolis, IN, respectively and numerous nieces and nephews.  Special thanks to her wonderful caregivers:  Deneen, Julie, Korina and Ann.

 

Funeral arrangements are being handled through Evans and Miller in Poteau with services at the First United Methodist Church of Poteau on Friday, March 4, 2022.  Visitation begins at 12:30 p.m. with the funeral at 2:00 p.m. Suggested for memorial contributions are the First Methodist Church of Poteau and the Arthritis Foundation – www.arthritis.org/donate.