Celeste Marie Skaggs

Celeste Marie (Self) Skaggs, age 63, of Yuma, Arizona, passed away on July 20, 2024. She is survived by her husband, Greg Skaggs, her oldest son, Travis Beach, her youngest son, Tyler Beach and his fiancé, Marissa Murphy, as well as her grandchildren, Hayden Taylor, 14, and Blake Beach, 2, her two sisters, Leisha Self (Daniel Snyder, fiancé) and Charla (Ernesto) Lozano, and her nieces and nephews, Daniel, Abigail, Talia and Aaron Weiss. She is preceded in death by her mother, Lorraine Self, and father, Carl Self.

Celeste was born on July 26, 1960, in Yuma, Arizona, the oldest of three sisters. In childhood, she was her sisters’ fierce protector, as well as their leader in many fun activities. In adulthood, Celeste’s vast memory of their family vacations at Lake Powell and camping and boating along the Colorado River made her the “go-to sister” when trying to recall all their adventures.

Celeste graduated from Kofa High School in Yuma, Arizona in 1978. There, she focused on music, where she sang in and played piano for the high school musical group, The Kofa Royalaires. Blessed with perfect pitch, she was a natural. She also excelled intellectually, taking the most difficult courses and succeeding in them with little effort. She had an amazing memory, superior analytical skills, and wrote like a dream.

In 1979, Celeste was crowned Miss Yuma County, wowing the judges with her beautiful smile, arresting appearance and stage presence, and her virtuoso piano skills. She went on to compete in the Miss Arizona pageant as well.

In 1982, Celeste graduated from Pacific Christian College, a small liberal arts school in Fullerton, California. She graduated with a degree in Early Childhood Education. Shortly after, she met and married Douglas Beach, with whom she had her two devoted and amazing sons, Travis Beach, born in 1984, and Tyler Beach, born in 1986. During their childhood, she juggled her time between being a devoted mother and excelling in her work at their successful family business, Southwestern Fast Freight, Inc., and later at Yuma Private Industry Council. On weekends, the family loved boating and skiing on the Colorado River and in Senator Wash.

Eventually, after Celeste and her first husband divorced, she began work as the Office Manager for First Presbyterian Church of Yuma. She essentially ran this small church for many, many years, including performing all managerial and administrative tasks, writing the weekly bulletin, and running the Sunday slides. She was so devoted to her work and the congregation that, even as she began having serious mobility problems, she continued with her responsibilities there. Celeste’s last day on the job was also the date of her death.

It was at First Presbyterian that Celeste met and fell in love with Greg Skaggs. They married on November 26, 2016, and made their home in the Foothills, enjoying dinners out and quiet time together. They bought their dream home in Yuma this May but were unable to move in before Celeste’s passing. Celeste and Greg were devoted to one another and Greg cared for Celeste as she went through the last hard months of her life.

In Celeste’s last years, she found immense joy in spending time with her granddaughters, Hayden and Blake. Celeste and Hayden formed a sweet bond, as Hayden helped Celeste with her church work. Blake’s baby and toddler antics never failed to delight Celeste.

Celeste was a devoted mother, wife, grandmother, daughter, sister and aunt. She will be missed so very much by all those who loved her.