Obituary of Bessie Marie Searing

Bessie Marie Searing was received in heaven on October 2, 2021 at the age of 94. She was born on June 14, 1927, in Sacramento to Ruth and James Gatten. She spent her early years living in rural Amador, CA , but moved to Chico when she was 15 to live with her aunt and uncle, Mary and Bill Graves and attend high school with her cousins, Bill, Larry, and Stan. While a senior in high school, she met Orville Searing who was based at the Chico airfield while in the Air Force.  They were married shortly after Bessie’s graduation in 1945.  Soon after, the couple moved to Wisconsin where Oroville had a large family.  Bessie quickly fell in love with her new family in Wisconsin, but not the cold winters. They moved back to Chico after only a few years in Milwaukee. Once back in Chico, Bessie and Orville started a family.  They had four children: Michael, David (Diane) Donna (Steve) and Steven.  She had seven grandchildren whom she loved dearly: Grant, Michelle, Mike, Curt, Mark, Keri and Christy. She also had 13 great grandchildren that she enjoyed so much. Bessie is survived by her brother James Duckworth and his daughter Jamie and her children Madeline and Emily. In addition, she is survived by many family members in Wisconsin. Bessie was preceded in death by her husband, Orville and oldest son Mike.

Bessie was a long time member of Trinity Methodist Church and served on many committees over the years.  She found great comfort in her church participation.  She also belonged to The Companions of the Forest fraternal organization for 50 years and spent many happy hours traveling around the state with her friends in the organization. One of her greatest joys however, was traveling to Wisconsin to visit the many relatives there and especially the Acker girls.

Bessie was a people person and loved to talk and laugh.  She was kind, funny, caring and helpful, and will be fondly remembered by many people. She loved gardening, music, doing crafts, and spending time with family.  She was an avid fan of the Giants and would be happy to know they’re in the playoffs.  She attended nearly every baseball game, spelling bee, horse competition, soccer game, holiday event, school play, birthday party, etc. that her children or grandchildren ever participated in.  She took her kids and grandkids to fairs, carnivals, pumpkin patches, hunting areas and fishing holes. Bessie spent most of her time taking care of others.  She will be thought of often and missed greatly.

Services will be held at Bidwell Chapel, 341 West 3rd St Chico; 95926 on Thursday, October 14th at 10:00 with burial following the service at Chico Cemetery.

Bessie passed away while recovering from the COVID virus.  Please get vaccinated.