Diocese of Knoxville’s new bishop has firm foundations in faith, love, family
By Gabrielle Nolan
Jimmy and Lois Beckman first met in the small town of Lawrenceburg, Tenn., on a blind date in 1960, where they went to the movies.
“We dated, and we just—that was it. We knew we were in love and that we wanted to have a family, a big family, and get married, and we did,” Mrs. Beckman shared.
Mrs. Beckman was a registered nurse, while Mr. Beckman worked at the family business, Beckman Lumber Co.
After the couple married, they welcomed six children into their lives over the span of 20 years: sons James Mark, Bruce Anthony, Robin Gregory, and Benjamin Edward, and daughters Melissa Jean and Jennifer Paige.
Mrs. Beckman described her family with a laugh as a “big, normal, bustling, Catholic family.”
“They all had fun,” she said. “Just normal kids growing up. They were spread out (in age), but they all loved each other. Still do.”
Bishop-elect Mark Beckman and his parents, Lois and Jimmy Beckman, were the subjects of many photographs on June 25 following a farewell Mass for the future bishop of Knoxville at the Diocese of Nashville’s Cathedral of the Incarnation. (Photo Gabrielle Nolan)
Mrs. Beckman moved to Lawrenceburg from Cleveland, Ohio, when she was 11 years old, but Mr. Beckman was born and raised in the Lawrence County seat. Lawrence County is on the southern edge of Middle Tennessee in the Diocese of Nashville. It is west of Chattanooga and borders Alabama.
“It’s just a nice-sized town,” she said. “You just don’t have to worry so much … it feels like a good, safe place to raise a family. Our church is not huge, but it’s a beautiful German church and been here for many years. And … we have a Catholic school, so we’re blessed for that.”
Mrs. Beckman believes all of her children loved growing up in Lawrenceburg.
“They grew up as a big family unit,” she said. “It’s not that tiny, but it is a smaller town. We had plenty to do. They played sports and went to church, went to school like every other child. They all stayed here almost, except for Mark. He’s the only one that doesn’t live here of my children. So, that’s kind of amazing.”
“Growing up, we were always having a party for someone or something,” said Jennifer Vaughn, Bishop Beckman’s sister. “We spent a lot of family time together cooking out, going to the river, or on beach vacations. So many fun and happy memories of all the siblings and eventually their spouses and children. We were truly blessed to have a wonderful and happy childhood growing up!”
Mr. Beckman’s sister, June Sandrell, noted that her children grew up with the Beckman family.
“We were all close-knit, and we just loved Mark. Mark was special. He was very special; he has always been. My children just loved playing with him. My two daughters … they loved to get out, they’d play out in the woods,” Mrs. Sandrell said. “My husband (Roy) was his godfather, and he let everyone know that Mark was his godson.”
Through the years, the Beckman family has enjoyed summer beach vacations and getaways to a mountain cabin after Christmas.
“We do a lot of family vacations. Now some of the kids go with us and their families, we combine,” Mrs. Beckman said. “We all love the beach, we went to the beach mostly. Probably after the kids got a little older, we started going to Gatlinburg the week after Christmas every year. It’s gotten a little bit overcrowded over there now. … We went to Helen, Ga., last year. But Mark’s always the one, he gets the cabin rented for us, and we all go. … He goes by hiking trails with the ones who are able go hiking with him. They like to hike out there in the mountains.”
“We go hiking, backpacking a lot, and we’ve been doing that for 20 years-plus probably,” said Bruce. “[Mark’s] got such a great memory. He can tell stories, and he remembers all the places he’s hiked at, and it’s just fun to hike with him because of that. And we usually have Mass on the edge of a bluff or something, and it’s just beautiful sitting out there praying with him, listening to his stories.”
Mrs. Beckman commented that Bishop Beckman has “always loved nature.”
“He was in the Boy Scouts; it wasn’t his favorite thing to do because of the food. They always laughed because they said the kids cooked the food and it always had dirt, had leaves and stuff in the eggs. … He’d come home, and he was starving,” Mrs. Beckman laughed. “But he’s always loved swimming. He’s always liked hiking. He’s always liked—I don’t think he got into backpacking until he got older—overnighters. But he takes all of the kids and some of the grandkids, they go a whole lot when they can; that’s what they do. He’s just always loved nature from when he was little. I guess it’s just something he did. He wasn’t a baseball player or anything like that, but he loved sports outdoors like that, nature and hiking and swimming.”
From son and brother to Father and Bishop
Of the six children, Mark Beckman was the only one to enter religious life, becoming a priest of the Diocese of Nashville on July 13, 1990.
His five siblings all married and had children, giving Mr. and Mrs. Beckman more than 20 grandchildren and over 25 great-grandchildren.
Lois and Jimmy Beckman enjoy a sunny afternoon at their family home in Lawrenceburg. (Photo Katie Peterson / Diocese of Nashville)
Mrs. Beckman said that having a son become a priest has been a blessing to the whole family. Bishop Beckman has baptized the grandchildren and great-grandchildren as well as celebrated the weddings of nieces and nephews.
“He’s just always been a blessing,” she said. “I keep thinking back to ordination day and how overwhelming that was. I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like the day of this ordination because it’s so much bigger to be a bishop. It was so beautiful when he was ordained a priest. We were all very proud of him, grateful that he was a priest. So, just couldn’t be any happier about it.”
Mrs. Beckman said she and her husband, who are both cradle Catholics, were “overwhelmed” when they heard the news that their son was being named a bishop. “He kept it a secret until he came home to tell us,” Mr. Beckman said. “I kind of had the feeling he was going to be a bishop years ago. I really did. For some reason, I don’t know why, but I did. I kind of knew it was coming, but I didn’t know when or what time.”
Mrs. Beckman agreed, saying, “I felt like it, but you never know if you’re being prejudiced. You know how that goes with your own kids. But he’s just special, I think. I think people see that in him besides me. He just loves what he does, there’s no doubt about it. He loves families, children, he loves the priesthood, for sure he loves the Lord, so you couldn’t ask for more than that.”
Bishop Beckman’s siblings were surprised by the news.
“When Mark told me he had been appointed bishop of the Knoxville Diocese I was a little shocked,” said his brother, Robin (Robbie). “I actually have always thought that one day he might be the pope, but lately my mind had shifted to him retiring and slowing down a bit.”
“I was surprised by the news, not because the thought had not crossed my mind before; I just was not expecting it at this time,” Jennifer said.
Leaning into it
The parents first had an insight into Mark’s vocation when he was in high school.
“He always kind of leaned toward it, I think,” Mrs. Beckman said. “When he was in high school was when he really made up his mind. He just always seemed like he leaned that way to me. But then in high school he talked to Father (John) Kirk and made his decision to go to seminary when he graduated from high school.”
“In the early ’70s [Father Kirk] was at Sacred Heart, Lawrenceburg, and he was real involved with the youth,” Bishop Beckman’s brother, Bruce, said. “Mark liked him, and he was a good leader for Mark and kind of probably set him off on that path, I would think.”
Mrs. Beckman said the Catholic faith has always “been the basis of our lives.”
“Faith, God, going to Mass; we instilled that you don’t go anywhere else, you go to Mass first,” she said. “I don’t know what more I could say; I love my faith above all things.”
Bruce shared that his older brother was “a shining example of doing it the right way, living right.”
“I can remember one time. … We were at a major intersection, and I threw out some trash because there was a little pile of trash,” Bruce said. “And [Mark] stopped, and it was a green light. This was a major intersection, and he said, ‘Get out and pick that up.’ And I said, ‘Not right here.’ So, he got out, walked around, and picked it up. Just the example I learned from him of the right way to live. He was always a good source of knowledge for homework and about the faith, and just a good example.”
The Beckman family attends Mass at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on June 25 in Nashville, where the Diocese of Nashville bid their son, Bishop-elect Mark Beckman, farewell. (Gabrielle Nolan)
“If you can picture what your mind would see Jesus like, that’s what we lived with. He’s the closest thing to Jesus that I’ve ever experienced,” Bishop Beckman’s sister, Melissa McCawley, said.
Jennifer commented that although Bishop Beckman is quite a bit older than she is, she remembers “good and fun years of him when I was young. He would come home from college to visit and loved to play board games and go to the park. He was always ready for whatever adventure I wanted to go on.”
Jennifer continued to describe her older brother as “a kind-hearted, gentle, and loving soul. He is very people- and family-oriented. He has an unwavering faith and love for God that is evident through so many lives that he has touched.”
As Bishop Beckman enters this new chapter of service to the Diocese of Knoxville and the greater Catholic Church, his siblings have a little bit of advice for their brother.
“I want to tell him that God specifically chose him to be Knoxville’s new leader for a reason and that I believe he is going to do amazing things,” Jennifer said. “I truly believe that God orders each one of our steps and that He has placed Father Mark right where He wants him to be at this time in his life.”
“My advice to Mark as he begins this new chapter of his life would be to continue walking this earth in the way that he always has…in a Jesus-like way, leaving everyone that he meets full of happiness and with a smile on their face,” Robbie said.
