Elma June Beall

Elma June Howell Beall, 89, of Wake Forest, N.C., known to her loved ones as Rusty, died September 12. Rusty was born June 26, 1928, in Clyde, N.Y., to Kermit and Bertha Harper Howell. She graduated from Wolcott High School in 1946 and married Russell S. Wheeler in 1947. They had three children, whom they raised in North Syracuse, N.Y. Rusty served as a Campfire Girls leader in the 1960s and ‘70s and worked as their office manager for many years. She later worked as office manager for Thermal Systems of Syracuse.
Rusty tended beautiful gardens at her homes in North Syracuse. She was an accomplished seamstress, needleworker, and quilter, and won awards for her handwork from the Country House of English Smocking and the New York State Fair. She taught her daughters and granddaughters to sew.
Rusty married Paul M. Beall in 1974. Starting in 1982, she attended Onondaga Community College, and then transferred to the State University of New York College at Oswego, where she graduated with a B.S. in Psychology in 1986, fulfilling her lifelong dream of a college education.
Rusty and Paul participated in the Folksmarch walking group with the Syracuse area YMCA. They loved to travel, and visited Scotland, Holland and France, among other destinations. Rusty and Paul moved to Stuart, Fla., in 1997, where they befriended many of their neighbors, and performed with the Treasure Coast Community Singers choir. Rusty also volunteered in Stuart as a literacy coach for underprivileged youth. They moved to North Carolina in 2013.
Rusty was predeceased by her devoted husband of 41 years, Paul MacEwan Beall; her son, Richard Wheeler; and two sisters, Joyce Carr and Margaret “Peg” Green. Rusty is survived by her daughters, Joy (Al) Oliver and Debra (Stephen) Gale; one sister, Evelyn (Robert) Rose; three stepchildren, Douglas (Heather) Beall, Bruce (Magdalena) Beall, and Betsy (Karl) Livengood; six grandchildren, Jeremy (Susan) Oliver, Hillary Gale, Rebecca Oliver, SFC Jacob (Tiffany) Gale, Sarah (Jonathan) Beall, and Jonathan Beall; and two great-grandchildren, Arianna and Chase.
A private service will be held Saturday, September 16, at 3 p.m. at Bright Funeral Home, Wake Forest, N.C. A memorial will be held at Kattelville Cemetery in Binghamton, N.Y., at a later date. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to Treasure Coast Community Singers at tccsingers.org.
A service of Bright Funeral Home & Cremation Center, 405 S. Main St., Wake Forest
(919-556-5811)
www.brightfunerals.com

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