Cover photo for Keisha Beasley's Obituary
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1977 Keisha 2025

Keisha Beasley

June 16, 1977 — January 31, 2025

Keisha Kohler Beasley was born on June 16, 1977 in Waterville, Maine to Suzanne Kohler and Will Tharps, spending her childhood in nearby Pittsfield and Orono, Maine. She was raised within a village of friends and family, including grandparents Peggy Mosher Havey, Fred Kohler, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Keisha often reminisced about Maine’s beauty and growing up within her multi-generational family—remembering antics like mischievous uncles attaching her sled to the family husky for a romp through the snow. Keisha’s family instilled in her a curiosity for nature and learning. She attended grade school in Orono and graduated from Acton-Boxboro High School near Boston. She earned her BA in Environmental Chemistry from the University of Vermont, where she cherished her adventurous friends and field hockey team. She often shared memories of a graduation trip from Seattle to Maine, equipped with only paper maps, two bikes, and her college roommate, Audra LeBlanc.

 Keisha’s academic curiosity led her to Duke University for a Masters in Environmental Chemistry. In Durham, North Carolina, she shared a house with graduate students—one of whom was Will Beasley. Keisha and Will were drawn to each other’s tender hearts and humor, and their friendship grew into a lifelong love. In 2006 they married in a charming garden in Ogunquit, Maine and honeymooned in Newfoundland. 

Will and Keisha moved to Norman, Oklahoma in 2003 to pursue advanced degrees at the University of Oklahoma. Keisha earned her PhD in Environmental Chemistry, where she applied quantum chemical equations to understand how microorganisms transform complex hydrocarbons from oil spills and climate-altering methane into environmentally friendly compounds.

 During this season, she began her most cherished role—mother to Maya and William. She delighted in guiding them through reading, baking, and science experiments. She loaded the kids and Lexi, the family mammal, in the Highlander every summer and drove cross-country to Maine and Canada for special time with Keisha’s mom -- “Grammy Zanna” -- and the treasured Kohler family. Keisha relished camping and discussing books with William and Maya. She delighted in the raucous, goofy games of her playful husband Will with the kids. Keisha and Will enjoyed lunch dates, dance classes, and trips including hiking along the California coast.

Keisha integrated her passions for science and children as a teacher at Classen Montessori School. She developed the upper elementary program in 2017 and the middle school program in 2023. Keisha taught her students the microscopic wonders of nature as well as the goodness within each of them. She camped with her students to experience the once-in-a-lifetime 2024 solar eclipse. She believed that education was not just about acquiring knowledge but about developing a deep connection to the world, inspiring students to think critically, explore boldly, and appreciate the intricate patterns of life around them.

Keisha and Will raised their children with their beloved House Church. As a group, they pursued God, drove carpools, served in shelters, pot-lucked, partied in the tornado shelter, and knit together a loving community. This fellowship of friends surrounded Keisha’s family during their cancer journey. 

Keisha communed with creation, and nature reciprocated; she left peanuts daily for a family of crows who faithfully guarded her flock of chickens who provided fresh eggs for the neighborhood. Keisha was acutely aware of the chain reactions—both chemical and relational—that bond us all together.

A prolific reader, Keisha often connected with others through literature. She prized her book clubs. She always knew the perfect book to send her growing nieces and nephews—books that sparked their imaginations and expanded their hearts. 

Keisha earned numerous awards including the Ronald McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program named for the second African American astronaut and physicist in space, the NCAA America East Academic Honor Roll honoring her high GPA while also being a college field hockey player, and the accomplishment of raising money for breast cancer by biking from coast to coast.

Keisha will also be remembered for her empathy, her gentle voice, her fuzzy socks, her salsa dancing, her thoughtfulness, her puzzles, her smile, her commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, her Pilates instruction, her encyclopedia of a brain, her grit, her curly hair, her mystical faith, and her comfort in Jesus. 

 Keisha bravely fought clear cell ovarian cancer; she was determined to be with her family as long as possible. Keisha will be deeply missed by her husband Will, their children Maya and William, her mother Suzanne Kohler, her father Will Tharps, her grandparents Fred & Linda Kohler, her sisters Waakila Dixon, Lakia Rutherford, and Brittany, Bianca, and Jaylen Tharps, her uncles and aunts Paul and Sue Kohler, Peter and Kayla Kohler, Sally and Jim Bachelder, Sandra Tharps, Aretha and Dennis Wilson, and Conchita Tharps Lewis, her in-laws Jeanie Beasley, Scott and Heath Beasley, Liza and Brett Raynor, and her many cousins, nieces, and nephews. She is survived by Greta Stosser, Captain Cluck, Yolanda, Gamora, Кошка, Doom Slug, Cleo, Fluff, Puff, Becky Barnes, Hawkeye, Falcon, and Lloyd.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, February 7 at 4 pm, at Redemption Church OKC, 1411 SW 38th St, Oklahoma City, OK

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to fund Roots of Change which honors Keisha’s legacy by supporting diverse educator recruitment. To contribute, please visit this website https://www.cmsnorman.org/roots-of-change-fund/ or send a check to Classen Montessori School, 2323 Classen Blvd, Norman, OK 73071 with Roots of Change in the memo line.


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Memorial Service for Keisha Beasley

Friday, February 7, 2025

Starts at 4:00 pm (Central time)

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