Beunis Ratliff Thigpen

Bennis Ratliff “Sister” Thigpen, 101, passed away Wednesday, September 23, 2026, in San Antonio. A Celebration of Life will be held at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, September 27, 2026, at First Methodist Church with John Kimbrough and Pastor Dusty Garison officiating. Condolences may be made at www.haskellfuneralhometx.com.

Beunis was born February 1, 1925, in Haskell, Texas, the daughter of the late Dennis P. Ratliff and Beulah Golden Ratliff. Her unique name came from combining the “Beu” from Beulah and the “nis” from Dennis. She was baptized at First Christian Church in Haskell, where her father served as a deacon, and her Haskell roots remained an important part of her life.

A 1942 graduate of Haskell High School, Beunis was active in just about everything. She played softball, tennis and basketball; played violin and bass drum in the Haskell Indian Marching Band; and served as drum major her senior year. Her first jobs included working at Lyle's Jewelry, where she polished diamonds, and at the ticket counter of the Haskell movie theater.

Following high school, Beunis attended Southern Methodist University, John Tarleton and Hardin-Simmons University while studying to become a teacher.

In the summer of 1944, while visiting family in Tyler, Beunis met the love of her life, Joe Eltidge Thigpen. Joe was a captain in the United States Army Air Corps training as a pilot during World War II. As family legend tells it, Beunis was sitting beside the swimming pool at Willow Brook Country Club when a handsome young man coming off the golf course spotted her and that first glance proved to be the love of his life. The two began dating, and three months later on October 19, 1944, they were married at First Christian Church in Tyler.

Following the war, their journey took them from Mississippi to Houston, where Joe attended Baylor College of Medicine. During those years, Beunis cared for their growing family and even made sandwiches to sell to medical students while Joe completed his studies. When it came time to decide where they would make their home, they chose Beunis' hometown of Haskell.

Beunis and Joe raised their four children, Joseph, Peggy, Anita and Emily, in Haskell. While Dr. Joe cared for generations of families through his medical practice, Beunis devoted herself to their family, church and community. With four busy children, her days were filled with football games, rodeos, basketball, track meets, band, twirling, cheerleading, plays, piano lessons and countless other activities. She served as a Girl Scout leader, was active in PTA and helped with Vacation Bible School at First Christian Church.

Family was always the most important part of Beunis' life. She loved cooking, canning and sewing and was known for her homemade yeast rolls, jellies and jams. She also enjoyed playing bridge, reading and traveling. Whether preparing a family meal or simply gathering everyone together, some of her happiest times were those spent surrounded by the people she loved.

Travel was another great joy for Beunis and Joe. Ruidoso, New Mexico, held a particularly special place in her heart, beginning with childhood trips with her family and continuing through generations of Thigpen family vacations. Their travels eventually took them throughout the United States and abroad. Beunis was an excellent navigator who could read aviation charts alongside Joe, guide a driver back onto the right highway and, perhaps most impressively, fold a road map back exactly the way it came.

Her later years remained filled with the things she loved most: family, food, stories and laughter. She shared cooking lessons with her granddaughters, enjoyed visits from family and friends and spent time rocking on her back porch. She never tired of telling stories about Haskell, the people she knew and the community she continued to love.

Beunis celebrated her 100th birthday in 2025, marking a century filled with extraordinary change and countless memories. During her lifetime, she watched Haskell and the world around her change in ways that would have been unimaginable when she was a little girl. Yet the things that mattered most to Beunis remained remarkably constant: her faith, her family, her friendships and her love of home.

To her family, she was known by many names: Mother, Grandmother, Grandmommy, and “Merner.” Each represented a different generation blessed to call her theirs.

Beunis was preceded in death by her parents, Dennis P. and Beulah Golden Ratliff; her beloved husband, Dr. Joe E. Thigpen, on April 16, 2013; and her son, Joseph E. Thigpen, on December 12, 2013.

She is survived by her daughters, Peggy Hairgrove and husband, Dr. Tom Hairgrove of Bryan; Anita Perry and husband, Rick Perry of Round Top; Emily Thigpen and husband, Vincent Solis of San Antonio; grandchildren, Joseph J. Thigpen of Haskell, Jodi Thigpen Trammell and husband, Jason of Fort Worth, Griffin Andrew Perry and wife, Meredith Lewis Perry of Dallas, Dr. Ross Eltidge Hairgrove and wife, Jasmine Holliday Harigrove of Kyle, Sydney Perry Harrison and husband, Brett of Austin, Emily Claire Solis Perez and husband, Evan of San Antonio, and Isabella Rose Solis of San Antonio; great-grandchildren, Athena Thigpen, Jaxon Trammell, Jenna Trammell, Ella Perry, Piper Perry, Finn Perry, James Hairgrove, Nora Hairgrove, Adeline Hairgrove, Rip Harrison, Harper Harrison; extended family and friends.