Alumni Happenings - November 2005
Grand County High School

Todd Beeman and Cathy Rogers Beeman
by Jeff Richards

Todd Beeman and Cathy Rogers Beeman have settled back in Moab after nearly two decades away.
Todd Beeman (Grand County High Class of 1982) first began dating Cathy Rogers (Class of 1985) when she was in 8th grade. Cathy’s family had moved to Moab around 1974, when she was in 3rd grade. The Rogers family then lived in Moab for nearly a decade before moving to Provo in 1983. Cathy attended Provo High School for a half year while still continuing to see Todd, who by then had graduated from high school and was working at his father’s drilling business.

“He came and rescued me from Provo and took me to Arizona, where we started our business, got married, and started a family,” recalls Cathy. Even though she didn’t finish high school with her graduating class, she recently attended the GCHS Class of 1985’s 20-year reunion, which attracted at least 20 of her fellow alumni this summer.

While living in the Phoenix area, the Beemans operated Arizona Beeman Drilling for 17 years, but eventually grew tired of the big city, Todd says. “My dad (longtime Moab resident Bob Beeman) wanted to slow down and retire, so we sold our business in Arizona,” Todd said.

But the Beemans weren’t quite ready for Moab just yet. They spent a short stint in Buffalo, Wyo. trying to get another drilling business established. “We went from a city of 3 million to three thousand,” Todd notes. “It was a big adjustment for all of us,” Cathy adds. “We were pretty isolated.”

The family then moved to Heber City, Utah for a short time before settling back into the Moab area in January of 2002.

“All the time the kids were growing up, Moab was the place where we’d come to spend our vacations,” Cathy recalls. “The kids would spend their summers with their grandparents and other relatives, and were already pretty familiar with the Moab area. So it wasn’t as big of an adjustment for us to move here (after Wyoming and Heber City). It was by far the easiest move we’ve ever done.”

The Beemans, married since 1984, are the parents of five children, three boys and two girls. Oldest daughter Cassy graduated from Grand County High in 2002 and is now married to Colman Swasey (GCHS Class of 2003), a former standout athlete in football, wrestling, and baseball. Cassy and Colman reside in Moab. Cathy and Todd’s next oldest child is Nick, who graduated from GCHS in 2004 and was an outstanding tennis player for the Red Devils. He is now working in Arizona. Next oldest is son Nathan, 13, an 8th-grader at GCMS, followed by 8-year-old Cammy, a 3rd grader at Red Rock Elementary, and 7-year-old Nolan, a 1st-grader.

“This is the first year in a long time that we haven’t had a child in high school,” comments Cathy.
One of Cathy’s most memorable high school teachers was PE teacher Joyce Victor, who also was the drill team adviser and spearheaded the prom. Victor was honored with the high school’s “Circle of Honor” award a couple of years ago, Cathy notes, adding, “She deserved that award for all her devotion to the school over the years.” Another memorable teacher of Cathy’s was math teacher Lynn Allen. Meantime, Todd remembers Coach Bruce Burningham, for whom he played football.

Todd also played a bit of golf in high school, and was also voted “Mr. GCHS” for the yearbook by his fellow classmates, a fact that he still gets teased about on occasion. Cathy was a member of the pep club her sophomore year before moving away to Provo. Cathy also fondly recalls the popular pastime of “dragging main” while in high school, and the kids hanging out in their cars in front of City Market (now the Walker Drug parking lot).

Nowadays, Cathy and Todd both continue to support local school sports and activities, particularly football and wrestling.

Todd has now taken over his father’s drilling business, and finds himself as busy as ever. “There’s been a drilling boom here in Moab ever since,” he says. “I’ve been as busy here as I ever was in Phoenix.”

“Moab is a completely different town now than it was when we moved away,” Todd adds. “There was no tourism to speak of, and the economy was horrible. We never pictured ourselves coming back to live here.”
But fate seemed to smile on the Beemans as they finally returned to the community where they’d spent their grade school years. “It really felt like home when we finally moved back,” notes Cathy. “Everyone knew the Beeman name and we just fit right back in.”

“I still miss the city a little,” Cathy adds. “But Moab’s a better place to raise a family. The kids have adjusted well, and I think we’ve finally settled in.”