Beulah "Bea" Hoofnagle
Beulah “Bea” A. Hoofnagle, 85, of rural Lansing left this world Friday, April 28, 2017 at her home. The transition from her earthly home to her heavenly home was a peaceful and happy one for her. She will be cremated with no services, per her wishes, and burial will be at Garden of Memories in Waterloo with no services.
She asked that you just have some good memories and a few laughs with her in mind, and forgive her for her wrongs. If she offended anyone or hurt feelings, please forgive her as Jehovah God has forgiven her.
Beulah “Bea” Ann Hoofnagle was born in Mingo March 11, 1932; her parents were Leo E. and Mae (Funk) Turner. The Turner family later moved to Waterloo, where her dad got a job working for the Waterloo Boy Tractor factory as a repairman in the field and then went to work for John Deere Tractor until he retired. They were one of the early families to build on Evans Road in the area now called Evansdale.
She, her brother, Lloyd, and her sister, Marjorie, went through the eighth grade at the Evans School and then went on to Waterloo to further their education. Although she did not graduate from high school, she got her GED before her oldest child went into high school.
Bea married Virgil Rich and they had two daughters, Cynthia and Laura; they were later divorced. She then married Juan Ortiz and they had a son and daughter, Dominick and Jennifer; and they later divorced. Bea married William “Sonny” Derifield, and they had two girls and one son, Margreet, Catherine and Curtis. They also raised three of Sonny’s six children, Junior Lee, Jeffrey and Jerald. Their mother, Wander (Muir) Derifield, had been killed in a car accident.
Although she was raised in a Christian home, Bea did not completely give her life to Jesus to guide her until she married Sonny. They had God in their lives and she thanked Him daily for His forgiveness and guidance. She and Sonny moved to Washington state where they had a custom hatchery to raise chickens and waterfowl. The geese they raised were put into the mint fields. They took many ribbons at the fair where Sonny was the poultry superintendent for a time.
Bea canned close to 1,000 quarts of fruit and vegetables every year, as was needed by her large family, and kept three freezers full. She won prizes for baked and canned goods at the fair. One year they took the prize for having the largest family at the Yakima, WA fair. She made most of the children’s clothes and was always a busy woman.
Sonny went to work at the John Day Dam and was injured on the job, which took away his ability to hold a full-time job. Bea then went to work as a community aide for the Southeast Yakima Community Center in Yakima, WA. She did seasonal work at the Del Monte and Libby’s canneries and went on to the Ross Plant Division of Tree Top, where she worked up from peeler/trimmer to be a drum room operator. Sonny passed away in 1987 from emphysema and COPD.
After an accident on the job at the Ross Plant, Bea was sent to Trend Business College in Yakima, where she was retrained and graduated in business information management and from a course in supervisory skills. While in school, she worked as a liaison between the students and faculty. After graduation, she worked as a project secretary for the AARP/Senior Employment office in Yakima, WA.
Bea also did something she had always wanted to do; she tried out and got a role in the Little Theater production of “All the Way Home” at the Yakima Little Theater. She played Ma Follet.
In 1996, Bea renewed a friendship with her childhood sweetheart, Dale R. Hoofnagle. They entered a contest with the local Yakima, WA radio K105.7 FM and won their wedding; they were married in September 1996. After the wedding, they moved to the Lansing area. Their yard was good sized and she made flower gardens wherever there was space. She loved being out in the yard and flower beds. Bea always said the land was a gift from God and she loved making it pretty for His eyes, and without God in her life she could not have been able to do that.
They were members of First Presbyterian Church in Waukon, where she was also a deacon and was honored with a lifetime membership in the Presbyterian Women. There she found a deeper love for the Lord than she ever had before. For the first time in her life, she truly gave her life over to the Lord and found peace. Bea loved everyone, all the members of the congregation, and the pastors and their families. All were family to her.
Dale passed in 2011 from pancreatic cancer. Bea’s youngest child, Curtis Derifield, came to live with her in April 2013 as a care giver and companion. They shared the love of the Lord and together studied the Bible and did their best to live as God would want them to live.
Survivors include her children: Cindy (John) Runnels of Colmesneil, TX, Laura Huff of Waterloo, J. Lee Derifield of Seattle, WA, Jeffrey Derifield and Dominick (Darlene Magnuson), both of Yakima, WA, Jerald (Anna Marie) Derifield of Belton, TX, Jennifer (Joe Bunting) Miles of Morgan Point, TX, Margreet (Neil Henderson) Derifield of Cottondale, FL, Catherine Short of Selah, WA and Curtis Derifield of Lansing; two stepsons: Jody Muir of Waterloo and Larry (Merry) Hoofnagle of Lansing; and three stepdaughters: Janice Muir and Marilyn Hoofnagle, both of Waterloo and Julie (Michael) Kinman of Selah, WA. Also surviving are 14 grandchildren; 32 great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandsons; four great-great-granddaughters; and many nieces, nephews and cousins who were all special to her. There were so many “special” people in her life there is not enough room to name them all.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Dale Hoofnagle; her parents, Leo and Mae Turner, her brother, Lloyd W. Turner, Sr.; her sister, Marjorie Hippen; and two great-grandchildren.
Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.
