James Marie Beasley-Diggs

James Marie Beasley-Diggs, known to most as “Marie” was born Sept. 6, 1948 in Greenville, Mississippi to the late proud parents James Beasley and Marie Bishop. Her mother died after giving birth to Marie and she was raised by the only mother she knew, the late Mary Beasley.

Marie attended Nugent Center High School, currently known as Ray Brooks School in Benoit, MS. She loved her school and classmates. She would often talk about her times there, especially when she was “Queen for a day” and crowned “Home Coming Queen.” Shortly after giving birth to her first child, Carolyn, and graduating high school, Marie, with her young child in tow, left her hometown and relocated to New York, as she liked to call it “New York, New York” and started a new life. Luckily, the sole family member she had in NY was her big brother, the late Willie Flowers, who had been there for many years and whom she reunited with.

Marie worked several jobs, sometimes two or three at a time until in 1975, when she landed her biggest job opportunity at Manhattan Savings Bank as a teller and moved her way up in different roles and positions within the company.

In June of 1979, Marie married the love of her life, the late Nostran “Norris” Diggs and with that union, they were blessed with a beautiful, blended family that consisted of six daughters and two sons.

Marie was a Baptist and loved the word of God and a believer in God’s faith. Even though in her later years she did not attend church as much as she would have liked, she did watch Sunday sermons on TV and prayed on her own.

Prior to her husband’s death, Marie enjoyed fishing with her husband and would often compete with him on who would catch the biggest fish. One of her biggest passions and one she was well known for was cooking. She loved to cook and loved to watch others eating and enjoying her food. She often experimented with different recipes or just simply improvised. She also loved to work on crossword & table puzzles and in more recent years, playing those puzzles on her electronic tablet. Lastly, she loved to play cards with loved ones, whether it was gin rummy, spades or bid whist.

Marie touched so many lives and will be missed tremendously by all those who loved and knew her. She leaves to cherish her fond memories, two children, Carolyn Beasley and George Diggs (Linda); one granddaughter, Mikaella Diggs “her pumpkin”; five children in love, Deborah Diggs-Baker (Dave), Nostran “Norrie” Diggs, Deloris Floyd (Leon), Dorenda Diggs & Ingrid Braxton; seventeen grandchildren & fourteen great grandchildren; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins & friends.

“God saw that you were weary,

So he did what he knew best.

He came and stood beside you, and whispered,

Come home to rest.”