Connita L. "Connie" Beckstrom

Connita Louise (Stotts) Beckstrom was born August 28, 1943, in Coffeyville, Kansas, to Troy (Pete) and Mary Ann Stotts. She was a tomboy who enjoyed being outdoors, riding her horse, and shooting the rifle she was given on her tenth birthday. Connie and her family moved to Wichita, Kansas when Connie was in high school. They moved into a house across the street from the Beckstrom family, and Connie soon caught the eye of her future husband "Rock" (John) Beckstrom. In order to get her attention, Rock suddenly began washing his car outside in the driveway nearly every day. Connie was shy and nervous around boys and was "scared to death" on their first date. However, it didn't take long for the two of them to fall in love. When Connie's family announced another move-this time to California-Connie begged Rock to marry her so she could stay behind with him. The two became engaged and were married within just a couple of weeks, on August 6, 1960. That was the beginning of a 63-year-long marriage and the most important friendship in Connie's life-the friendship with Rock's mother, Wilma.

Rock and Connie were soon blessed with two boys, John Oscar, Jr. and Donald Ray. They were the delight of Connie's life. A few years later, the family grew again when Rock and Connie adopted Shelly Lynn, the daughter Connie had been longing for. Connie wanted to stay home with the children and spend time making memories with them. In order to do that, she ran an in-home daycare. Connie made life-long friends with the parents of her daycare children, and Connie's house became the favorite neighborhood hangout.

Making memories with her children was always a priority for Connie. During the summers, she took them to the family cabin at Fall River and through the years took them on other "adventures," many of which occurred when she got lost enroute to their actual destination. Connie created holiday decorations with her children, attended their sporting games, and encouraged their dreams. She once said, "I never was too busy to talk to my kids or listen to them, no matter what time of day it was."

Connie never let anything stop her once she put her mind to something. That included everything from home remodels, a solo cross-country trip to California to comfort her sister when Connie's nephew was killed in a car accident, and getting her GED when her own children were in high school. Her can-do mindset also extended to crafting. There was almost no craft activity Connie didn't learn to do and do well. She made ceramics, dolls of all sizes, and elaborate doll houses and doll furniture. She quilted and could do almost any kind of needlework you can imagine. Once when working at a fabric store, a customer told Connie that a new craft trend was too difficult for most people to figure out. Connie immediately bought an instruction book and supplies and began teaching herself. She later took advanced classes in the art and even taught some classes of her own.

When Connie was blessed with grandchildren, she was over the moon with joy. Her first granddaughter, Lauren, didn't live in town, but that didn't stop Connie from having a close relationship with her from the very beginning. Later, Kyle and Kaylee were born, and still later Ele and Keegan joined the family. Each of the grandchildren knew they were loved by Grandma, and Connie had a different but special relationship with each of the children. She worked hard to make memories with her grandchildren, just as she had done with children. She taught nearly all of the grandchildren how to swim, spent some messy hours in the kitchen cooking, and shared her love of crafts with them. She even taught special craft classes for Kyle and Kaylee and their friends-sometimes having as many as twenty kids in the class. Connie tagged along on many trips and outings and even organized some of those adventures. She loved to play games, and for those grandchildren who also enjoyed games, many hours were spent at the table doing just that, although Connie never "let" them win. Victories were the result of smart strategies (which Connie taught the kids) and a little bit of luck.

Connie was never a person to sit still for too long without a project or without being involved with something she thought was meaningful and important. After retirement, those important things included being involved in church work and fostering. When Rock and Connie retired, they moved to Oklahoma near Keystone Lake. Shortly after the move, Rock and Connie were baptized and gave their lives to God. Connie became very involved in the work of the church, participating in a women's group that made blankets and layette items for hospitals, children's homes, and women's crisis centers. She also taught a Bible Class for young children and invested hours in preparing and teaching lessons and making the children feel especially loved. During this time, Connie learned about Hope Harbor and their need for foster homes for teen girls. Rock and Connie went through training to become foster parents, and for the next decade fostered therapeutic children, first through Hope Harbor, and later through the Oklahoma foster care system. One of those children, Marissa, found a special place in the hearts of Rock and Connie, and on June 14, 2012, Connie's family grew again when she and Rock adopted Marissa Renae.

In 2020, Connie was diagnosed with an excessively large liver stone. Emergency surgery was eventually performed, and months of difficult recovery and care followed. During that time, Rock and Connie made the decision to move back to Wichita to be near Don and Lori and better medical care. It was soon discovered that Connie had actually developed a rare condition where her body mass-produced liver stones. After almost five years, many hospitalizations and surgeries, and a great deal of suffering, doctors said no more surgeries could be performed. By that time Connie had lost the love of her life, Rock, and her body was becoming depleted. Connie continued to live life to the fullest each day, finishing her many "projects," including building a massive townhouse doll house with Don's help, building a doll house for her great-granddaughter Sophia, working on a quilt top for Lori, and planning rooms in the townhouse for her grandson Keegan. Even while she was ill, Connie was faithful in her church attendance for as long as her body allowed, and was generous with her time and help to those in her apartment community. Even as her body failed, Connie continued to play games and make memories with her children and grandchildren. Her most cherished memories of that time were her Sunday phone calls with John, her visits and family dinners with Don, her texts of Marissa's cat pictures, her long "night talks" with Kyle, her phone calls with Lauren, and her game-playing with Keegan and Ele. And, in Connie's words, through it all, Lori was her rock.

Connie lost her fight with her disease on April 10, 2025, and went to be with her Lord. For those left behind, Connie created many treasured memories that will help fill the void of her loss.

Connie is preceded in death by her husband Rock (John) Beckstrom, her parents and her brothers Kenneth and Troy Stotts. She is survived by her sisters, Shirley Ann (Stotts) Isbell and B. J. Stotts, and her children John (Leslie) Beckstrom of Williamston, South Carolina; Don (Lori) Beckstrom of Wichita, Kansas; and Marissa (Cody) Souders of Coffeyville, Kansas. She also leaves behind her grandchildren-Lauren (Dino) Della Fortuna, Kyle Beckstrom, Kaylee (Ben) Beckstrom-Wigdahl, Elena McManamey (bonus granddaughter), and Keegan Beckstrom-and her four great-grandchildren.

Memorials to:
Clearwater Church of Christ
Youth Group
13900 Diagonal Ave.
Clearwater, KS 67026