Meet Deacon Gary Beam: Blessed to Serve the People of God

To get to know Deacon Gary Beam, we should also introduce St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, a French nun born in 1647 who held an intense devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Throughout Deacon Gary’s diaconate, he can find many examples of when St. Margaret Mary Alacoque has been with him. As St. Margaret Mary Alacoque once said, “I need nothing but God, and to lose myself in the heart of Jesus.” Deacon Gary joins us from the Church of St. Benedict in Broken Arrow. Also serving on the diocesan Diaconate Formation Team, he looks forward to getting to know the people of Holy Family Cathedral.

Crucial to Deacon Gary’s introduction is his wonderful family because they are very important to him. He and his wife, Terri, have been married for 38 years. They live in South Tulsa. The couple has four adult daughters — Meghan Grayless, Kaitlin Isley, Elizabeth Martinez, and Sarah Lauderdale — and nine grandchildren.

“I feel so blessed that all four of our children have continued in their Catholic faith,” he says.

By moving to Holy Family Cathedral, Deacon Gary joins Meghan, her husband, Erik, and their four children, who are parishioners here. Kaitlin, her husband, Aaron, and their three children, along with Elizabeth, her husband, Japheth, and their daughter are all St. Benedict parishioners. Sarah and her husband, Matthew, are Focus Missionaries at the University of Alabama at Birmingham — the couple has one daughter.

Deacon Gary retired from American Airlines as a pilot last October. A highlight of his career was flying Pope Francis from the United States back to Rome when he visited the United States six years ago. He has had a long career in the airline industry — he got his start in the Coast Guard and also attended Navy Flight School. Another interesting point in his career was his time spent on the first flight on the new Boeing 787s — about half of the 787s flown by American Airlines were tested by Deacon Gary.

Deacon Gary Beam, a retired commercial pilot, flew Pope Francis back to Rome after his visit to the United States.

Deacon Gary was raised in the Southern Baptist faith — he and Terri agreed to raise their children in the Catholic Church since it is Terri’s faith tradition. Deacon Gary was invited to consider attending the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults and entered the Catholic Church in 1999 — he has been involved in the Church ever since. In 2007, a few men in the diaconate formation program encouraged him to think and pray about becoming a deacon. He was ordained in 2014.

“It’s a blessing just to serve the people of God,” he says. “That is what I enjoy. I feel God’s presence the most when I am assisting at funerals, just being there for families during a time of great loss.”

Deacon Gary looks forward to using his music skills at Holy Family Cathedral. His first interaction with the Cathedral was singing in the Schola Choir in the past. He also looks forward to getting involved at the school and assisting with adoration on Fridays.

“I am excited to see what the needs are here at the Cathedral once I get my feet on the ground,” he says.

Now in retirement, Deacon Gary and Terri keep themselves busy babysitting their grandchildren.

“I am the family fix-it guy, too,” Deacon Gary says. “My daughters say, ‘If dad can’t fix it, no one can!’”

Let us all give Deacon Gary Beam a very warm welcome to our Holy Family Cathedral community!