Memorial reef honors former sea turtle rescue director Jean Beasley and husband

TOPSAIL ISLAND, N.C. — A memorial reef placement off the coast of Topsail Island on Friday honored the life and legacy of Jean Beasley, former director of the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center, and her husband, Fred Beasley.

Jean Beasley died in December 2025 at age 90. Fred Beasley died in 2010.

The memorial was placed in collaboration with Eternal Reefs, an organization that incorporates cremated remains into a concrete mixture used to create artificial reefs.

Sandy Sly, who worked alongside Jean Beasley beginning in the 1950s, said the reef placement was a fitting tribute to her longtime work protecting and caring for sea turtles.

“Knowing that they are at peace, she is where she loved to be at the ocean, so I really felt it was the thing to do for her and her husband,” Sly said.

Jean Beasley became director of the organization after her daughter, Karen Beasley, died from leukemia at age 29.