Beulah Caulkins Laughlin

July 30, 1922 - March 8, 2019

Beulah Laughlin, one of 14 children, was born on July 30, 1922 on the family farm east of Swan, Iowa, the daughter of Wilby Franklin Cowman and Nettie Elizabeth (Sanders) Cowman. She moved to Knoxville and worked in various restaurants until she opened her own cafe, Beulah’s Cafe, in 1954. She was known for her homemade food and pies. Beulah and her first husband, Harold, raised three daughters on their farm south of Knoxville. They worked together on the farm, milking cows, and raising other animals. After Harold passed away in 1976, she met and married Carl “Lucky” Laughlin in 1981. Together Beulah and Lucky ran the cafe for many years, all while tending their garden, playing bingo and traveling. They retired from the cafe in 1992. Beulah was baptized at the First Christian Church in Knoxville on April 19, 1977. Beulah passed away on March 8, 2019, at the Westridge Nursing Home in Knoxville. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands, two grandsons (Chase and Caleb Larson), six brothers, four sisters, and two step-sons, John and Fred Laughlin. Left to cherish her memory are her daughters, Dorothy (Mike) Larson, Linda (Jim) Mason of Iowa Falls, and Darla Stone of Tonganoxie Kansas; seven grandchildren, Jeff (Dameon) Larson, Bryan Larson of Atlanta, Georgia, Jim (Kathy) Mason of Minneapolis, Stacy Mason of Minneapolis, Lance and Linc Stone of Tonganoxie, Kansas, and Teri (Brett) Brummer of Milo; 14 great grandkids, 3 great great granddaughters, sisters Shirley (Brenton) Trabert, Donna Visser and Wanda Swayne; sister-in-law Donna Cowman; stepchildren Linda (Larry) McKelvey, Des Moines, Barbara (Terry) Ray of Franklin, Tennessee, Scott (Donna) Laughlin of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and several step grandchildren and step great grandchildren. Memorials may be given in Beulah's memory to Your Life Matters.