Beverly Joy Harvey

“I have a dream, a song to sing.

To help me cope with anything.

If you see the wonder, of a fairy tale,

You can face the future, even if you fail.

I believe in angels, something good in everything I see.

I believe in angels, and I know when the time is right for me,

I’ll cross the stream, I have a dream.” -ABBA

Beverly Joy Harvey, age 68, passed away peacefully on July 3, 2025 after a defiantly brave battle with AML.  In her final days, she was surrounded by the love of her family and friends, singing Zippety-Doo-Da with her beloved husband Edgar, sharing memories and hugs with her daughter Meghan, chatting with her son-in-law Ben about art, enjoying chocolate desserts and dancing to music with her dear twin sister Barbara, laughing with her grandchildren Helen and James, snuggling her grandpuppy Leo, and just bringing delight to everyone she encountered. She died as she lived, focused always on joy.

Beverly knew how to live.  How to truly live.  She was not just a glass half full kind of person, but glass half full with a side of dessert person, or “Bezzert” as her family came to call it in reverence to her childhood nickname, Bez. While Beverly truly sought to see the good in everything, she wasn’t naive or saccharine.  As with all good desserts, she knew that a pinch of salt was necessary, so her life was also infused with wit, humor, pursuing knowledge and new experiences, going out of her way to understand the perspective of others.  While her life included heartbreaks and disappointments like any other, she always found what she could be thankful for and focused her energy on that.  While she was so sad that AML had to cut her life short, she was grateful that she had spent her life truly prioritizing what brings joy–family, travel, good food (mostly chocolate), friends, happy music (especially ABBA and the Beatles), laughter, and connecting with others. Beverly was a force, and anyone who met her knew that.  She radiated positivity.  It was infectious. She drew you in, she made you laugh, she made everyone feel seen, heard, and cared for.  She expertly organized parties, planned trips and vacations, coordinated family holidays and reunions, hosted book clubs, and squeezed every last drop of fun out of the life she was given. She celebrated the people around her, and if you were loved by Bev, you knew it daily. Her legacy will be the joy and positivity she inspired in others.  She truly embodied her middle name, Joy. 

Beverly was born in Sioux Falls, SD, on June 24th, 1957, to Robert and Helen Weniger.  The youngest of four children, Beverly felt grateful to have had a childhood full of unconditional love, and unlimited desserts.  Chocolate chip cookies either for or after breakfast were a normal occurrence.  Living near McKennan Park, she enjoyed idyllic years there playing with siblings and friends. She graduated from Washington High School in 1975, and set off on a time of exploration, including a semester at sea where she traveled the globe, visiting a dozen countries in Asia and Northern Africa. 

Beverly went back to college (USF) in her 20s, where she fatefully met and fell in love with her English professor (gasp!), Dr. Edgar Harvey.  It will surprise no one that she wooed him by bringing desserts into every class.  Up to that point, Beverly had spent her career doing wedding cakes and making desserts for local restaurants such as Minervas, but love abounded during this time, and not only did she find the love of her life in Edgar, but also in the English Language.  Beverly went on to teach English at Lincoln High School for over 2 decades, ensuring that thousands of students, now citizens, knew how to communicate, analyze, and think critically about the human experience. 

Beverly and Edgar had the most beautiful relationship.  They enjoyed decades of deep, abiding love and wonderful times together, traveling far and wide, especially enjoying a fabulous sabbatical in London, enjoying good food and the beauties of nature, both at home in the gorgeous garden Edgar created, and in the beaches and gardens around the world.  They cherished their time with friends and family, and the simple routines of life as well.  Always, especially during her cancer treatment, Edgar surrounded Bev with hope and love. They were each other’s rock. 

One of Beverly’s most cherished experiences was being a mom to her daughter, Meghan Joy, and being CiCi (grandmother) to Helen Joy and James.  Beverly poured the unconditional love she received from her own parents into her daughter, and then later her grandchildren.  To be loved by her was an immeasurable gift.  She celebrated fiercely, loved deeply, hugged tightly, and sang jubilantly.  She created nicknames, songs, routines, and experiences that showed her deep love for her family. What disappointed Bev most about her prognosis was not being able to see her grandchildren grow up, but she knew that she was already “baked into them” in every way–in all the Bezzerts she made with and for them, and in the way she made sure they knew how proud she was of them, always, no matter what. 

Beverly is survived by her husband Dr. Edgar Harvey, daughter Meghan Ober (Benjamin), grandchildren Helen Joy and James, grandpuppy Leo, twin sister Barbara Weniger, brother Robert Weniger Jr. (Dana), sister Kathryn Bauer (Brad), many nieces and nephews, her British family the Malcolms, and many other beloved family members and friends. 

Special thanks to the amazing people at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Specifically, Dr. Dan DeAngelo, Patrice O'Sullivan, Dr. Robert Soiffer, Amy Joyce, Jen Brock, Katie Pasquale, Michele Leung, Stevie Conlon, and the incredible nurses on BWH 6B who made her feel not just cared for, but truly loved, both as a patient and as a person. In lieu of flowers, donations should be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in her name so that scientific, life-saving and life-prolonging research can continue to make an impact like it did for her.

Because she deserves no less, a Celebration of Life and “Bezzert” buffet will be held in Sioux Falls at Spirit of Peace on Friday, August 22, 2025 at 2:00 p.m. A Celebration of Life will also take place on Thursday, August 28, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. Anchor Bay Church, 10 Dane Street Beverly, MA. 

To watch the service in Sioux Falls virtually please use the Zoom link listed below:

Heritage Funeral Home is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Bev Harvey FuneralTime: Aug 22, 2025 02:00 PM Central Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/83080422805?pwd=PTuO6SEyb8udGBUP2nhpudlVRqWOYO.1

Meeting ID: 830 8042 2805Passcode: 014391