John Randall Beasley

John Randall Beasley was born on March 18, 1948 in Nashville, Tennessee. He passed away unexpectedly on August 27, 2025 at his home in Riner, Virginia. He was preceded in death by his father, John Lee Beasley, and his mother, Eugenia Paul Beasley, and by his stepson, Vincent Lumia. John leaves behind a brother, Mark W. Beasley of Murfreesboro, Tennessee and a sister, Paula L. Hughes, of Manchester, Tennessee.  Surviving John is his daughter Sunny Lee Beasley of Cody, Wyoming as well as nine nieces and nephews. 

John went to high school in Murfreesboro where he played football and basketball and was a member of the state championship basketball team. After high school he joined the Air Force and was shortly thereafter deployed to Vietnam. He rose to the rank of Sargent while working as a communications specialist. While in the Air Force he received the Air Force Medal of Commendation.

After the Air Force, John worked in retail for both Sears and Montgomery Wards while attending East Tennessee State University on the GI Bill where he received a bachelor’s degree in business. He was hired by Allstate and began a thirty plus year career in the insurance business. John loved interacting with people and provided great service for his customers. John retired from Allstate at the age of 62 and began to volunteer in the community. It was in volunteering that John found true satisfaction. He became active with Habitat for Humanity both as an organizational leader and a worker, volunteering thousands of hours in the construction of homes, many times working months at a time without a break. But for John, this wasn’t work but pure enjoyment. It combined his need to be around people with his love of woodworking and carpentry. John also volunteered with the Lyons Club where he looked forward to parking cars on Virginia Tech game days. John did countless ‘projects’ for his friends over the years, never charging for his labor, and on the occasion of a big job, specifying that a donation be made to Habitat for Humanity.

John was an excellent hunter and fisherman. While mostly hunting locally, he made trips to Florida to fish for bass, to New York to fish for salmon, and to Cape Charles to fish in the Chesapeake Bay with many of his friends. 

John loved to travel and was able to travel all over the world but his favorite destination was his twice yearly drives to Yellowstone. He would spend his days searching out wildlife and watching and photographing their life in the park. He would often stay for a month or longer, camping in his Suburban, and soaking in the experience. He was packing his vehicle for another trip on the day of his passing.

John was one of the most frugal people when it came to his own needs but one of the most generous when it came to others. He would often pay for meals for his friends and would donate money to most any worthy cause always acknowledging he was ‘glad to help’. His humility and kindest were always present in his interactions with people.

He enjoyed his weekly ‘finance meetings’ otherwise known as card games with some of his best friends. By his own declaration John was always “fantastic” and told many people that if he died tomorrow he had experienced the best life he could have ever imagined.

Memorial gifts in honor of John may be made to: 

Habitat for Humanity
1675 North Franklin Street
Christiansburg, VA 24073