Mildred Roberta Bess was born May 14, 1926, near Idabel, Oklahoma, to Jasper Wesley Bess and Lola Mae (Willis) Bess. Known to everyone as "Millie", she attended a three-room schoolhouse until she transferred to Wright City High School. She graduated in 1944 and went straight to work for the sawmill where she saved money to attend college, which was her dream. There, she met Mary (Beggs) Toliver who introduced Millie to her brother, Calvin Leslie Beggs, through correspondence while he was stationed in the South Pacific during WWII. He came home and they were married on November 17, 1945. Millie and Calvin were married 63 years before his passing in 2009. They lived in Oklahoma, California, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon, moving frequently for Calvin's work in the "log woods". In 2015, Millie sold the family farm near Turner, Oregon, where they had lived more than 30 years and moved to McMinnville, Oregon, to be near her children who live in the surrounding area.

They were blessed with nine children: Larry (Kerstin), Judy (Kenny), Arnold, Carolyn (Leon), Tammy (Raymond), Shane (Gina), Mark (Priscilla), Teresa (Jack), and Kirk (Becky).

Millie wore many hats throughout her life, but her favorite was being a homemaker. She loved her family, cooking, quilting, and gardening. She had an amazing green thumb. Millie said in the brief memoirs she worked on with her daughter Carolyn: "The times in my life I was the happiest was when each of my children were born. I felt like my life had purpose. Another time I was the happiest when Calvin was saved in 1972. My idea of perfect happiness is when there is no confusion, and everyone is happy and on their way to heaven. It seems like my life has gone by too fast."

Millie loved her church in Aumsville, Oregon, where she attended several years before leaving the farm but found a new church home in McMinnville, Pacific Baptist Church, when she relocated. Millie lived her life according to the Bible and her strong faith in her Savior, sharing her faith with family and others throughout her lifetime.

Millie passed into the arms of Jesus on March 6, 2022, in Newberg, Oregon, two months before her ninety-sixth birthday. She is survived by her sister, June Osborn, of Wright City, Oklahoma, and brother Ronnie (Pam) Bess of Big Cedar, Oklahoma; 6 children, 31 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren, and 24 great-great grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Jasper and Lola; sisters Wanda and Delores; brothers Don, Ray, and Earl; and three of her beloved children: Larry, Shane, and Teresa.

Services will be held at New Hope Church, 37180 Gore Drive, Lebanon, Oregon, 97355, on Saturday, March 19, 2022, at 1:00 pm, with viewing prior to the service from noon to 12:30 pm in the sanctuary at New Hope Church. The burial processional will take place to nearby Mt. Home Cemetery immediately following the service. A reception/meal for everyone who wishes to gather to remember Millie will take place in the New Hope Church fellowship hall, hosted by the family after the internment.

AAsum-Dufour Funeral Home is handling the arrangements (www.aasum-dufour.com).