A week or so ago I read the obituary page in the Clovis News Journal, which included closing the Book of Life for Davenport Beasley. I had to wonder how many in Clovis today remember his 32 years of service to the education of children in the Clovis Municipal Schools.
I decided to add a few lines from my memory.
I first met Port Beasley in 1960, then the assistant to superintendent Travis Stovall.
After the World War II, he returned to Tennessee as a supervisor of county schools. He was then asked by Superintendent R.E. Marshall to move to Clovis, where he became principal of James Bickley Elementary School in 1948.
His impact on building the Clovis school system as a part of the administrative team deserves to be mentioned.
It included:
• Moving the high school from the now Clovis Public Library location to its present location on Thornton Street
• Building Gattis Junior High in late 1950s and Yucca Junior High in 1968-69.
• Elementary schools that include Bella Vista, Sandia, Cameo, Lockwood, Zia, Barry, and the rebuilding of La Casita Elementary plus additions to many schools.
He served with four superintendents: Marshall, Stovall, Vernon Mills and Larry Byous. To my knowledge, he was offered an opportunity to be the superintendent at least twice during his tenure in Clovis but declined, preferring to work with the staff and students.
His effort not only included quality buildings but also a high quality staff for a district which was approaching 9,000 students.
It just happened to have been my privilege and honor to have known and worked with Port for many of those years. He was a dedicated person to the education of children and the Christian lifestyle.
— Submitted by Dick Sullinger
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