Ray "Coochie" Beamon, Sr.

   Ray Gordon “Coochie” Beamon, Sr., 93, of 111 New Ferry Road, Gatesville, NC, died Saturday, April 15, 2023 in Sentara Obici Hospital, Suffolk, VA.

   Mr. Beamon was born in Gates County on April 1, 1930, and was the son of the late Horace Vernon, Sr. and Essie Brinkley Beamon. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife, Linda Kay Warren Beamon; daughters, infant Laura Kay Beamon and Sandra Dianne Beamon; a son, Joseph B. “Bubba” Beamon; his brother, H.V. Beamon, Jr.; and a grandson, Charles Nicholas Wright.

   Retired as a warehouse foreman with Estes Express Lines, many in the area will remember him for the produce stand he operated on the corner of Main and Court Streets in Gatesville. All he needed was the tailgate to his pickup, a “pop-up” tent, and his vegetables and he was in business, causing on somedays a traffic jam on the normally quiet streets. An avid outdoorsman, he loved gardening, catching fish, hunting and trapping. He was a member of the Gatesville Hunt Club and Nixon’s Ditch Fishing Club, and was a diehard Duke basketball fan. An Air Force veteran, he served on the Military Police detail during the Korean War.

   Surviving are two daughters, Karen Bennett (Shane) of Hobbsville and Jennifer Beamon (Chris) of Grandy; three sons, Danny Beamon and Ray Gordon Beamon, Jr. (Lisa), both of Gatesville, and John Murray Beamon (Betty) of Boise, Idaho; his sister, Mary Ann Eure of Gatesville; 11 grandchildren, Lisa, Justin, Keosha, Tara, Jared, Abby, Jonathan, Morgan, Dylan, Brennan, and Brandi; and five great-grandchildren, Hunter, Carter, Grant Warner, Brantley and Evans.

   Funeral services will be held Wednesday, April 19^th, at 2:00 p.m. in the chapel of Miller Funeral Home, 304 Main Street, Gatesville, and will be conducted by The Reverend Elizabeth Villegas. A private burial will follow in the Town of Gatesville Cemetery. Friends may visit with the family Tuesday from 5 to 7 p.m. in the funeral home or all other times at Gordy and Lisa’s home, 109 New Ferry Road, Gatesville.

   Online condolences may be made by visiting www.millerfhc.com.