Wilma Beckley Obituary

Wilma Jean Beckley, age 88 of Lindale, Texas, passed away Monday, June
30, 2025, in Lindale. She was born May 23, 1937, in Champaign, Illinois to the
late Herschel Wilbur and Marie Josephine (Percival) Westfall. Wilma lived in
Lindale for the past 25 years where she was a member of first Green Acres Baptist
Church and then Mt. Sylvan Baptist Church.
She worked throughout her life as an administrative assistant for Effingham
High School, Crossroads Press and Country Life Insurance in Effingham, Illinois;
and one day each week at Patrick Law Offices in Lindale after her retirement
(where she was fond of saying she "worked for food," as the only pay she would
accept was lunch each week!).
In her spare time Wilma enjoyed collecting antiques (particularly
glassware); going on Goldwing trips with husband, Bob; traveling in the U.S. and
Europe; growing roses and other flowers; and, later in life: coloring in adult
coloring books.
She was preceded in death by husbands, Robert A. "Bob" Beckley and
William Forrest Keplar; son, John F. Keplar; parents, Herschel and Marie Westfall,
and brother, John Westfall.
Wilma is survived by children, Denise Patrick (husband, Glen) of Mt.
Sylvan and Phillip Keplar (wife, Ericka) of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; sister,
Janet Czerwonka (husband, Melvin) of Watson, Illinois; grandchildren, Devan and
Megan Patrick of Charlotte, North Carolina; Dylan Patrick and Kimberly Patrick
of Tyler, Texas; and Carissa and Sagar Gandhi of Lindale, Texas; (most beloved)
great grandchildren: Brayden Patrick, Cameron Patrick and Brooklyn Patrick;
seven nieces and nephews and numerous other loving friends.
The family would like to thank the wonderful staff at Colonial Nursing
Home for their care of Wilma for the past three and a half years and special thanks
to her Hospice of East Texas nurses and caregivers for making her last few months
as comfortable as possible.