Catherine Bean

BIOGRAPHY

Catherine Bean was born in Hailey, Idaho, USA, on 3 June 1884, to parents William and Katherine Powers. Her family first relocated when she was about three years old, initially settling in Wardner before moving to Mullan, where she spent most of her adult life. Her father worked for the Hunter Mine. In Mullan, she attended elementary school, which at that time was held in a wooden building located within the Episcopal church. She later left Mullan to live with her grandmother and aunt in Logan, Ohio, where she completed her secondary education. After attending St. Mary’s of the Springs, a teachers’ college in Columbus, Ohio, she returned to Idaho, where she worked as a nurse. In 1910, she cooked for the firefighters who battled the Great Fire of that year.

On 18 February 1911, she married William Bean in Portland, Oregon, and remained married until his passing in 1967. The couple had five children: Helen, who passed away at age 16, and Tom, William, Regina Lyons, and James. Her husband owned and operated the Bean Grocery Store in Mullan until the early 1960s when a fire destroyed the store. After the fire, he salvaged what he could and decided to retire. All of their sons grew up working in the family store. Her four children served in the military during World War II: Tom was a sergeant, William served as a lieutenant and saw action in both Europe and the South Pacific, her daughter Regina was a registered nurse and second lieutenant attached to a troop ship in the Philippines and New Guinea, and James, also a sergeant, served on the German front.

Bean was also the first woman to lead the Cancer Society in Shoshone County, then known as the Woman’s Field Army. She traveled to Missoula and other cities to help establish the society and enlisted the support of local women in the effort. During World War II, she managed the War Mothers group, organizing volunteers at the Morning Club to sew for the war effort. Active in the Red Cross, she also became a founding member of Mullan’s March of Dimes after President Roosevelt declared war on polio.

A dedicated homemaker, she was a longtime member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church and held a 90-year membership with St. Michael’s Guild. She also served as president of the Northern Deanery of Catholic Women and continued attending all Deanery meetings well into her early 90s. An active member of the American Heart Association, she remained on her Guild’s Sick Committee even in her later years. She received an award signed by Pope Pius XII, naming her “Mother of the Year for the State of Idaho” in 1958. In her late seventies, she suffered a broken hip from a fall while watering the church grounds, but she recovered fully without lasting effects. She visited eight countries with her sister, Grace Oldfield, including the Vatican, Lourdes in France, Fatima in Portugal, Rome, and Ireland.

In 1984, she moved to the Shoshone Living Center in Kellogg. She attributed her longevity to her faith and devotion to the rosary.

Bean passed away on 6 October 1994, at the age of 110 years, 125 days. She was survived by three daughters-in-law, ten grandchildren, and 14 great-grandchildren.

RECOGNITION

Her age was verified by Jimmy Lindberg, Daniel Gonik, and Stefan Maglov, and validated on 29 October 2024.

ATTRIBUTION

* Shoshone News-Press, 25 August 1975

* Shoshone News-Press, 19 September 1992

* Shoshone News-Press, 8 October 1994

GALLERY

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