Carolyn Grace Beam

Carolyn was born in Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville Tennessee. Soon after her arrival, the family moved to the Harpeth Valley Farm where Carolyn grew up. They lived there until 1944, when they moved to the Nashville home on Stokes Lane. Carolyn attended Stokes Elementary School from 1945 until she entered Waverly-Belmont Junior High School. She had been studying piano from six years old and she continued that along with another joy she had - playing tennis. Carolyn graduated in 1956 from West High School and played in the Nashville Gifted Young Artist Awards Concert. She attended George Peabody College for Teachers and graduated in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education. She continued studying piano and organ with Louis Nicolas and she also became a member of Sigma Alpha lota, a professional women's music fraternity.

Upon moving to Abilene, Carolyn taught elementary school and she met her future life-long love, William Samuel Beam III, a voice student of her mother. Professor Grace Kline Morrow at Hardin Simmons University. On June 17, 1961 Carolyn married Sam in the First Baptist Church in Abilene, and when Sam received his Master of Music from Southwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, the couple moved to Eastland, Texas where she played the organ and piano to support her husband's music ministry. In the First Baptist Churches of Ballinger, Coleman and Gatesville she helped organize their musical ministries. The couple moved to Haslet and continued their music ministry at the First Baptist Church of Haslet for 25 years. She dedicated herself to helping organize the church liturgical cycle of special musical events and holidays.

Her greatest passion was teaching her private piano students, and she taught young people and adults to find their own passion through musical expression with the piano. Carolyn dedicated many hours each day to her students and her legacy is her students' love of music. She also loved gardening and working in her yard.

One of her greatest joys was to celebrate her family reunions and to enjoy the games and wonderful lasagna that they loved for her to make. She also loved to plan events for these family celebrations and to organize competitive games.

Carolyn is survived by her sister, Ruth Elizabeth Morrow; children, William Samuel Beam, IV and wife, Cathy, Elizabeth Anne Beam Woods and husband, Bob, Thelma Grace Beam Steward and husband, Doug, Tammy Ruth Beam; grandchildren, William Bradley Beam and wife, Elizabeth, Ryan Bailey Beam and wife, Brooke, Kristy Anne Beam Gilbert and husband, Max, Kimberly Grace Beam Wilburn and husband, William, Robert L Woods, III and wife, Megan, Brayden Ray Woods and wife, Lacy; great grandchildren, Sunny Kallyn, Eli Wayde, Gabriel Landon, Callum Rhett Gilbert, Preslie Jo, Myla Kate, Ava MacKenzie Beam, Samantha Rose Woods, Nevāda Rivers, and Lila Lova Woods.

The family thanks you for your treasured friendship by joining us in celebrating her life in this difficult time.