Celebrant Pam Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Beverly was born in Long Beach to her parents, Myrle and Bob Keene, on January 20th, 1935. She was an only child who was raised in a loving household by her parents. Her father worked in construction while her mother was a homemaker. The family moved around a lot due to her father's work in the construction business. They lived in places such as Baker and Carbon Canyon.

Growing up, Beverly loved to fish with her father. It was a skill she carried with her into adulthood. She always loved to fish and she was good at it.

Beverly graduated from Lincoln High School and went to work for the telephone company.

She met her future husband at a friend's home. His name was John Perdue. They had a lot in common, they both enjoyed racing which was one of John's hobbies, and they started dating. Three weeks after they met, Beverly and John were married on March 6th, 1954 in Quartzsite, Arizona. John was the love of Beverly's life and she was devoted to him. As a wife, she took on the traditional role in the household. She was a homemaker as she did the cooking, cleaning, and washing, while John worked outside of the home and provided for the family.

Beverly's next adventure was into parenthood…

The couple had three wonderful children: John, Jim and Vicky. As a mom, Beverly did everything for her children. And she was there for them when they needed her the most.

Young John had a hip disease, which required surgery and body casts. Beverly was small, but she would carry 10-year-old John around on her hip because he had two casts on his legs. He did his schoolwork at home during this time and Beverly took him to the orthopedic hospital a couple of times a week. Even when John was bussed to a special school at a great distance, Beverly still attended his school events. As a baby, Jim had to go through eye surgery and she was there for him as well. It wasn't always easy for Beverly. But she never made her children feel as though they were a burden. Instead, she stepped up to the plate to help.

She attended school events for all three of the kids. Jim played in Little League and she supported John when he ran cross country. Even if John came in at the end of the pack, when he turned that corner toward the finish line he could hear his mother cheering him on as though he was in first place.

And she had a special relationship with her only daughter, Vicky. They were so very close and when Beverly wanted to go shopping, Vicky was happy to join her.

The family celebrated the traditional holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas with a feast. With every holiday, Beverly was an amazing cook. She cooked all the time whether it was a holiday or not. One of her specialties was Menudo. And John loved her spaghetti and enchiladas. She made every meal from scratch.

When the kids were growing up, the family went camping every weekend to Gorman, Lake Isabella or Soledad Canyon. They also had a boat and often enjoyed water skiing at Diaz Lake. During those family camping trips, Beverly and John would listen to tapes of Freddy Fender, Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline over and over again. They loved country western music.

Beverly was the heart of the family and the glue that held everyone together.

Beverly was known as Grandma to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She loved spending time with each one of them and everyone always felt loved and included. Each relationship with her grandchildren was different, but they all loved her just the same.

She had introduced her children to The Wizard of Oz and when her grandchildren came along, she made it a cinema event every time that film was on television.

She had taught her children how to fish and she taught her grandchildren how to fish.

Truly, Beverly was like a second mom to her grandchildren. She was very attentive, very involved and very proud and they were all equally special to her. When David came home late at night, she'd stay up reading waiting for him. Then, when he got home, they'd sit and talk like best friends. All of the grandkids could talk to her about anything and you never felt judged.

With the great-grandchildren, Beverly loved spending time with them, too. She just adored her family.

With every marriage and addition to the family, Beverly had a way to making everyone feel accepted, as they were a part of the family. The door to Beverly's heart was always open for one more. Beverly always told her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, "I love you."

With many favorites in life, Beverly loved Mexican food. Every Saturday for many years, she liked going to Leo's with John, Vicky and Jeff. She also liked having margaritas and she was happy to order a pitcher of margaritas to share. After having a margarita, Vicky says she talked the whole way home.

Beyond her love of country music, Beverly's favorite singer was Frank Sinatra. She enjoyed reading romance novels. She loved the Lakers, the Dodgers, and Michael Waltrip in racing. And her favorite things to watch on television were HGTV, the Olympics and her Lakers.

One of her favorite pastimes was to go shopping. Beverly would buy two of everything she thought she needed. If she saw it advertised on television, she'd find it in the store.

With a love of animals, Beverly loved Casey, her most recent chocolate lab. When Casey was a puppy, he'd sit on a chair or on the couch. Even though he's six-years-old now, he still thinks he's a puppy and sits on the couch. Beverly loved that dog.

Beverly had a great sense of humor and she liked to laugh. Her smile was infectious.

After the kids were grown, Beverly and John started going on cruises with their friends, June and Sparky. The couple also went to the Caribbean and Mexico. And they traveled in their motorhome on trips with Betty and Bud. They made a lot of great memories with their friends.

In 2004, the family held a 50th wedding anniversary party for Beverly and John at the Golden Nugget in Laughlin. They both loved it. And the kids and their spouses took the couple to Hawaii in 2006. They rented a house in Kauai for a week and it was a beautiful vacation. Beverly sat on the lanai reading a book while John smoked a cigar.

Over the last ten years, Beverly was not in good health. But she willed herself to live so John wouldn't be alone. That was the strongest evidence of her devotion to John as his wife.

Sadly, last year John passed away. She missed him tremendously and she prepared herself to join him one day.

Last September, Beverly broke her hip. In addition to Vicky and Jeff, Lelia, her daughter in law, who herself is a nurse, put her life on hold for 7 weeks to come to California from Alabama and care for Bev and continue the rehab she had started in the rehab center. When Lelia returned home the family welcomed another caregiver into the family in Gloria. In fact, Gloria was as fiercely protective of Beverly as Vicky was. They had no fear in asking questions, getting answers, or demanding excellent care at the hospital and rehab. Gloria and Beverly were very close.

Beverly did not lose her sense of humor either. She had a running joke with Jeff. She'd ask Vicky to scratch her nose. Jeff would imitate her, "Can you scratch my nose?" Beverly would add, Hey, Jeff, "Can you kiss my ass?" She had a way of making people laugh and smile.

In her closing days, Beverly was holding on… she worried about her daughter, Vicky. Beverly and Vicky were best friends. So, Vicky did one of the hardest things there is to do and it's something she also did for her father just last year – she gave her mother permission to go. She whispered into her ear, "It's okay, go be with Dad, he's waiting for you, I promise you, I'll be okay…" With that, Beverly opened her eyes briefly, looked at Vicky, and a few minutes later she passed away peacefully while surrounded by her loving family.

Her family feels she is at peace and reunited with her husband John again.

Beverly's purpose in life was to take care of her family. Her family was the best part of her life. She took her responsibilities to heart and there was no turmoil. No one ever wanted to disappoint her.

Her family will miss everything about her because Beverly always had a smile and nice things to say. She was like a security blanket wrapped around everyone.

Beverly's advice to everyone would be to remember her, but move forward, be happy, and keep the family together.

Beverly will be laid to rest next to John with Valentine's Day cards and Mother's Day cards from the Great Grandchildren, as well as a picture of Casey by her side.

Beverly was preceded in death by her husband John. She is loved and remembered by her son John and daughter-in-law Sandy; her son Jim and daughter-in-law Lelia; her daughter Vicky and son-in-law Jeff; her grandchildren Genevieve, Nicky, Michelle, Marcus, Jeff, Allison, David and Thomas, and Jennafer; her five great-grandchildren Malyia, Rachel, Tyler, Cici, and Caleb; her sister Genine; her cousin Sheri; extended family and many friends.

John's web page is located at http://celebrantpam.com/memorials/johnperdue.html