In Memoriam: Nona Beamer (1924-2008)

[ISNorden]

"Auntie Nona" Beamer, who appeared in the Hawaiian trip episodes from the late 1970s, died yesterday at age 84. Even though I have no personal ties to the family or to Hawaii, I still remember her performance on Sesame Street fondly--and plan to post a few clips in her memory. God bless you, Nona!

 

[sesameguy]

Hi ISNorden - I'm also sorry to hear the news. The Hawaii episodes are among my favorites & she was a part of making them that way. She will be missed. I'm betting that now she's someplace even more beautiful than Hawaii.

bacwardin2007 - I think you're actually thinking of Keola Beamer, who was the guy who sang "In the real old style" and other songs in the Hawaii episodes. He is the son of "Auntie Nona" Beamer. As far as I know, he's alive and well, but obviously mourning the loss of his mother. Our good wishes go out to him and his family. He's got a Web site and he talks about his mother's death in the current homepage:

http://www.kbeamer.com/

 

[ISNorden]

Sesameguy--I wish I could send Keola my condolences too; unfortunately, all the contact links on his site seem to be business-related. Not the best place to leave a heartfelt personal message, I'd guess...

 

[ISNorden]

Memorial clip on YouTube

For anybody who's interested, I just created and posted a little slide show in Auntie Nona's honor. You can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_KlJw-Px_E