Jo Ann Beam

Jo Ann Drachenberg Beam, 85, died Sunday, May 31^st, in a Lake Charles nursing home.  Mrs. Beam was born in New Orleans and lived her early life in Port Sulphur.  She graduated from Port Sulphur High School and attended LSU and McNeese State University.

Funeral services for Mrs. Beam will be 11 am, Friday, June 5^th, in Johnson Funeral Home chapel.  The Rev. Dr. John Robert Black, pastor of St. Luke-Simpson United Methodist Church, will officiate.  Burial with the family will be in Consolata Cemetery.  Visitation will take place at the funeral home from 4 to 8 pm, Thursday, June 4^th, and again from 9 am Friday until time for services.

Social distancing is encouraged in the funeral home and visitors are urged to avoid physical contact (hugging and handshakes).  Persons wishing to wear facemasks at visitation or at the service are welcome to do so.

Mrs. Beam married James C. “Jim” Beam, a newly commissioned 2^nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, on Aug. 20, 1954.  She was with Beam when he was serving his two-year tour of duty in Oklahoma and Georgia.  They celebrated their 65^th wedding anniversary in 2019.

Beginning in 1970, Mrs. Beam served as a secretary for five years at Lake Charles High School.  She then became a 20-year secretary in the Office of Student Services at McNeese State University, retiring in 1995 as an administrative secretary.

Mrs. Beam was a longtime active member of St. Luke-Simpson Methodist Church where she kept track of church attendance and was a member of the Seekers Sunday School class.  She taught children’s Sunday school, vacation bible school, served on the Evangelism Committee, Families Helping Families, Contemporary Worship Committee and leader of Bible Study Fellowship.

She was a volunteer with the Lake Charles Memorial Hospital Auxiliary for 23 years, serving for 3,000 hours as a patient representative.  She loved games, particularly weekly card games with close friends, and was an avid New Orleans Saints fan.

Survivors include her husband; one daughter, Jamie Fierro (husband Joe); one son, Bryan C. Beam (wife, the former Edith Pavy), all of Lake Charles, one granddaughter, Jessica Meek Walker (husband, Adam); of Sulphur; one grandson Andrew James Beam of Lake Charles; and one great-granddaughter, Aurora Walker of Sulphur.

Mrs. Beam’s parents, William and Myrtle Drachenberg of Sulphur; one sister, Mrs. Inez Lilly of New Orleans, and one brother, Billy Drachenberg of Mississippi, preceded Mrs. Beam in death.

The family wishes to express its appreciation to the staffs of Resthaven Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and the Harbor Hospice facility of Lake Charles for their great care.

If they wish, friends may make memorial donations to St. Luke-Simpson United Methodist Church.

**Please note that the gathering capacity will be limited to 25% seating capacity of the funeral home, as per state compliance. **