Beverly Ann Calhoun

Beverly Ann Presley was born to Jim and Marjorie Presley on August 23, 1945, in San Antonio, Texas. Beverly grew up in Longview, Texas, where she became lifelong friends with the "Sunshine Girls," a special friendship that survives to this day. Beverly graduated from Baylor University in May, 1967, in Biology and English, and she immediately married her college love, Thomas Allen Calhoun, on June 24, 1967. They moved to Mansfield, Louisiana, where they reared three sons, James Kirk Calhoun, Allen Presley Calhoun, and Clay Andrews Calhoun. Beverly and Tommy then moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, where they became members of First Baptist Church. Beverly joined her sons in heaven on Saturday, September 25, 2021. Beverly Calhoun was a quiet lovely woman in every way, with an artist's ability to see beauty in absolutely everything and a deep strength of faith that enabled her to bear a life of overwhelming grief with grace and mercy, joy and delight. She was calm and composed, gentle in spirit, but she could also communicate very clearly when necessary. She was strong enough to be gentle as she stood her ground. People were drawn to Beverly. Those who knew her, adored her; those who knew of her, admired her. After graduating from Baylor University in 1967, Beverly never stopped learning. She read, studied, appreciated art in all its forms-from painting and sculpture to history, cultural arts, furniture, fabrics, and jewelry. Beverly was a prolific artist: painting, sculpting, designing. She created art wherever she was. Beverly and her grandson, Zac Calhoun, shared that passion for art and created much of it together. More than any other form, Beverly loved the art of God's creation: birds' nests, leaves, rocks of every kind, trees, grasses, flowers, and the sky. Beverly saw "art" in people. Beverly appreciated the delicate curve of a child's face, the blood veins of an older person's hand, or the expression of a perplexed face. As a musician, herself, Beverly could also "hear" the music in the world around her. She loved the art of the quiet, but she also appreciated the music of creation, the music of laughter, and the notes of a cello or a beautiful piano. Her loved ones say that "Beverly lived art." Beverly's faith in God enabled her to relate to other people, even when the relationships were difficult. Beverly's life was full of unimaginable suffering; yet she was able to forgive the unforgivable, to be patient with the most trying, and to love the unlovable. Beverly was willing to listen, and she was able to hear what people were saying, in the way that only those closest to God can hear. So, Beverly found joy in friends, in children, in her sons' friends-even after her sons all went to heaven, in all of nature, in music, in funny stories, and every beautiful manifestation of life. Surely this is the reason that her loved ones called her "the angel among us" and Tommy's "Yellow Rose of Texas." Beverly shared her love, her art, her heart, her music with people in Longview, at Baylor, in Mansfield, and in Shreveport. At First Baptist, Shreveport, Beverly redecorated the Sanctuary Foyer, decorated the Sanctuary at Christmas, served on the organ restoration committee, and added her lovely soprano voice to the choir. Beverly also served on the board of the Meadows Art Museum at Centenary College of Louisiana. In addition to her husband and family, many friends remain whose lives have been transformed, forever, through their friendship with Beverly: her life-long friends, The Sunshine Girls (from Longview); her beloved Art Group, where she both created art and found refuge; her Dudley Square friends; her closest pals from Mansfield; and so many more. Beverly was preceded in death by all three of her sons, Allen Presley Calhoun, Clay Andrews Calhoun, James Kirk Calhoun; her parents, Jim and Marjorie Presley of Longview, TX; her in-laws, Riemer and Hope Calhoun of Mansfield, LA; her sister-in-law, Terry Presley of Longview, TX, and brother-in-law, Bill Grant of Dallas, TX. She is survived by her husband, Thomas Allen Calhoun; her grandson, Zachary Calhoun; her brother, James C. Presley of Longview, TX; her sisters, Jane Grant of Santa Fe, NM and Sara Welborn of Denver, CO; and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. The family gives special thanks to caregivers Joy Wilson, Linda Atkins, Tywander Morgan, and the Staff at the Oaks of Louisiana. The Celebration of her life will be on Tuesday, September 28, 2021 at 2:00 p.m., at First Baptist Church, Shreveport, 543 Ockley Dr., Shreveport, LA, led by Dr. Jeff Raines. Memories of Beverly and her art will be in the Sanctuary Foyer of First Baptist Church at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Burial will follow immediately at Highland Cemetery, Mansfield, LA. Honoring Beverly as pallbearers will be Chris Presley, Clark Presley, Kent Welborn, Benny Hives, Bo Odom, Murray Calhoun, Christian Bagley, and Michael Woods. Serving as honorary pallbearers will be Mike Gulley, David Calhoun, Tommy Frye, Robert Ryder, Peter Moncrief, Chris Rothell, Dave Rothell, Joseph Hall, and Charles Amie. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials may be made to the charity of the donor's choice. Surely the beauty and love that Beverly shared with this world remains in people and places and relationships that are forever changed because God loaned her to all of us.

Blessed are they who die in the Lord, for they rest . . . they rest from their labors and their work remains behind them. Revelation 14:13