Carl Beavers

A life of humility and service is celebrated in a newly published book, dedicated to the memory of Father Carl Beavers as “Wyoming Padre, a Cowboy Priest.”

Father Beavers, born in Sheridan Sept. 16, 1942, to Buck and Edna Beavers, moved to Powell in the fourth grade. He was a fixture on Powell High School athletic teams and graduated from PHS in 1960.

He was ordained into the Catholic priesthood at St. Barbara’s Catholic Church on May 24, 1968. In retirement, he suffered a heart attack and died at age 77 on May 24, 2020, while irrigating on his farm at Dayton.

The biography of Father Carl Beavers, published by Mary Kay Turner and Sharon Marx of the Jackson area, is both a collection of memories by others and Father Beavers’ voice as a priest for 53 years.

Former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson of Cody observed: “The torch he carried for his lifetime lighted many a path and lightened many burdens. And what we really saw in his magnificent life lived was the essence of religion ‘lived out.’ He was all the man there is.”

Father Beavers served as Chaplain of the Wyoming State Senate for 14 years between 1985 and 1999. Former Gov. Mike Sullivan reflected on Father Beavers, saying he “spoke with clarity of thought and with a characteristic and laudable brevity that caused the listener to walk away challenged and wishing for more.”

“Wyoming’s Padre, a Cowboy Priest” is available for order on Amazon.

— Dave Bonner