William M. Beasley, II, 45
March 15, 1981 – August 15, 2026
Tupelo/Tuscaloosa-Heroes aren’t born. They are created. Before Will Beasley became anyone’s idea of a hero, he was an actor, runner, swimmer, singer, guitar player, brother and son.
Then, in 2001, a diving accident left him quadriplegic. He finished college at Ole Miss. He earned a master’s degree in history and a law degree from the University of Mississippi, graduated Phi Beta Kappa, served on the editorial board of the Mississippi Law Journal, and became a practicing attorney—or, as Will preferred to describe it, a “high-paid secretary.”
He was also a scholar with enduring interests in the Civil War, sea power, strategic studies, civil-military relations, and naval history. His master’s thesis examined the influence of popular culture, interservice rivalry, civil-military relations, strategic planning, and defense unification on the 1949 “Revolt of the Admirals.” His work was featured in the U.S. Naval Institute Blog.
He did all of this as a quadriplegic. Will was also a man of ritual—some might have called it stubbornness, and they would not necessarily have been wrong. He ate at specific times. Holidays required specific dishes. Restaurants were selected with considerably less flexibility than most people would consider reasonable as one does. Then he fell in love, and some of those rules became a little less absolute. Will married Jerusha Gillespie in 2022 and became stepfather to Evah, Conlan, Liam, and Angus Gillespie. He continued supporting the people he loved in the way that came naturally to him: completely. Will loved hard. He promoted people. He encouraged them. He noticed what they were capable of and treated that capability as settled fact, even when they had not quite decided to believe it themselves. He was generous with his confidence in people and deeply invested in what they might become. He was also incredibly funny, with a dry wit that was unmistakably Will. Conversations rarely passed without a joke or an eye roll. His heroism was never contained in the things he accomplished after 2001. It was in the way he refused to let one thing that happened to him become the explanation for everything that came after. It was his curiosity, his stubbornness, his scholarship, his humor, his willingness to participate enthusiastically in questionable shenanigans, and, most of all, the way he loved and believed in people. Will was born in Tupelo on March 15, 1981. He met his Creator from UAB-St. Vincent’s Hospital in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, August 15, 2026
A Service of Death and Resurrection will be held at 11 AM Thursday, August 20, 2026 in the Sanctuary of First United Methodist Church-Tupelo with Rev. Keith Keeton and Rev. Jim Curtis officiating. His brother, Adam Beasley will speak. Visitation will be in the Gathering Room beginning at 10 AM Thursday. Holland Funeral Directors-Tupelo is honored to be sharing in Will’s Life Celebration.
Will is survived by his wife Jerusha Gillespie; his stepchildren, Evah Gillespie, Conlan Gillespie, Liam Gillespie, and Angus Gillespie; his mother Linda Jobe Beasley; his brother Adam Beasley and Adam’s wife, Kateri Palen; his sister Megan Beasley; and his nieces and nephews, Aakyah Beasley, Jackson Beasley and Lucy Beasley. He is preceded in death by his father, William Beasley.
Those are the names that fit into an obituary. Will’s legacy does not!! His memory lives on in the people he encouraged before they knew how to encourage themselves-in the people he loved without reservation- through his devotion to his family; dedication, drive, and perseverance; the stories that will continue to be told; the jokes that were objectively terrible; and the lives that became larger because Will was a part of them!!!!
Heroes aren’t born. They are created. And sometimes, if you’re extraordinarily lucky, you get to call one your brother.
Memorials may be made to the Tupelo Community Theatre (Lyric), P. O. Box 1094 Tupelo, MS. 38802. Holland Funeral Directors/Cremations is honored to be serving their dear friends.
Please follow the funeral home link above for further information, or to send online condolences or memorial gifts.
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Visitation
Thursday, August 20, 2026
10:00 am
First United Methodist Church-Tupelo
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Service of Death and Resurrection
Thursday, August 20, 2026
11:00 am
First United Methodist Church-Tupelo
