Walking On -- LaVerne May Teter (Hosford) Bean

LaVerne May Teter (Hosford) Bean

Aug. 18, 1922 – Aug. 25, 2018

Our beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and great-great-grandmother went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2018, just one week after her 96^th birthday. She celebrated her birthday on powwow weekend surrounded by family and friends.

Tribal spouse LaVerne May Teter Bean was born Aug. 18, 1922, to Marshall and Pearl Teter in Rickreall, Ore. She attended school in Rickreall until the ninth grade. She met her husband Fremond Bean at the age of 15 and moved to Grand Ronde in 1937. Together, they had six children: Donna, Frank, Ellen, Tom, Linda and Joyce.

Despite being a mother of six children, LaVerne was a logger, helping Fremond run the first Indian-owned logging company in the area, F.F. Bean Logging. She set chokers, scaled logs in her moccasins, ran equipment and managed the payroll and taxes.

In 1957, the family moved to Siletz, Ore., and LaVerne managed the S&H Green Stamp store in nearby Toledo.

After 25 years of marriage to Fremond, they divorced and she moved to Portland. She went to work for Jantzen Woolen Mills as a seamstress where she met Bob Hosford and his son, Danny. During her time with Bob and Danny, she helped Bob with his car sales business and became a car saleswoman. Through Bob, LaVerne became involved in the Portland professional wrestling scene. She took great pride in being part of the team that managed and looked out for professional wrestler and longtime wrestling promoter Sandy Barr.

She used her skills as a seamstress to make costumes for wrestlers and her work was much in demand by wrestlers on the Portland circuit, such as Lonnie Mayne, Tony Bourne and Dutch Savage, to name a few.

After separating from Bob, she lived in Eugene and Salem, Ore., and Phoenix, Ariz., before choosing to be near her family and settling into retirement on the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation.

All her life she was known for her sewing skills. She made quilts, pillows, clothes, ties and traditional Native American ribbon shirts. She enjoyed knitting, crocheting, embroidery and macramé. LaVerene also had a keen eye for crossword and jigsaw puzzles.

LaVerne was preceded in death by her sons, Thomas Joseph and Francis Bean; daughter, Ellen Bean Campbell Fischer; and son-in-law, Duke Olson.

LaVerne’s surviving children are daughters Donna Bean Stronach, Linda Bean Hostler Olson and Joyce Bean Kirk. This amazing matriarch also is survived by 18 grandchildren, 34 great-grandchildren and 15 great-great-grandchildren.

At her request, there will be no funeral services. A private luncheon and interment for family and close friends will be held on Sunday, Feb. 24, at the Grand Ronde Community Center, 9615 Grand Ronde Road.