Beatrice Skelley

Survivors include: 1 daughter: Jane (Ron) Picray of Monticello: 2 grandsons: Jim (Deveri) Picray of Ramsey, MN. and John (Amy) Picray of Monticello, IA. 3 great -grandsons: Dillan, Max and Wade Picray; 1 great granddaughter, Brooke Picray and a sister-in-law Chloe Skelley of Iowa City. She was preceded in death by her parents Wade and Jane Long, husband Jim, a sister Ruth Sands and a brother Richard Long. Bea was born on December 17, 1922 in rural Dundee, Iowa, the daughter of Wade and Jane (Smith) Long She attended the elementary and Jr High in Manchester and graduated from Monticello High School in 1940. She attended nurses training at Southshore Hospital in Chicago and later attended Lenox College in Hopkinton, Iowa. She worked for her father at Long's Grocery and Dry Good Store in Monticello until her marriage on November 24th, 1948 to James Skelley. Bea & Jim owned and operated grocery stores in Delhi, Oxford Junction, and Monticello for 23 years. They then built and operated the Dairy Sweet/Maid-rite (now Kelly's Kitchen) in Monticello for the next 7 years. Bea & Jim then managed the Monticello Golf Clubhouse for 3 summers until they retired as a team. Bea began working at the Gambles Store until they closed and then Long Drug working there until her retirement in 2003. She spent her retirement years playing Red, White, & Blue machines and enjoying time spent with her grandchildren and great grandchildren.