Beverly May Stevens

1934 - 2019

Beverly May Stevens, 84, of 2203 Laura Drive, Traverse City, MI, died Thursday, March 21, 2019, at War Memorial Hospital, Sault Ste. Marie, MI.
She was born May 28, 1934 in Northport, Michigan, to Thoralf and Annamae (Kalchik) Eiken. The family soon moved to Traverse City, and that had been her home for most of her life.
Beverly worked at several banks in Traverse City and at the state mental hospital before her marriage to John R. Stevens in June of 1956. They were divorced in December of 1975. Beverly served as a homemaker during this time, as well as an assistant Camp Fire Girl troupe leader in Sault Ste. Marie. While she was in the Sault, she also worked as an aide to mentally handicapped children.
After the divorce, Beverly returned to Traverse City, where she worked for the Friend of the Court's Office and then became a medical transcriptionist for Great Lakes Orthopedic Surgery. This was a job she continued until her retirement.
Beverly also attended Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City after the divorce, earning an Associate's Degree in business. She was very proud of this degree, as it was the farthest any member of her family had gone in school to that point. She had also taken extension courses in painting and music.
Beverly was a skilled and devoted mother, not just to her two daughters, but to their friends and to the members of her Camp Fire troupe. She taught them to read and do math before they entered school, and she taught them to cook, sew, knit and play musical instruments. Beverly herself played and taught piano, played violin, accordion and other instruments, and performed on her organ at various senior residences.
She loved pets, having had at one time or other cats, dogs, parakeets, guinea pigs, gerbils and goldfish. She took in stray cats and saw that they were spayed or neutered. Many of them remained in her household afterward. One of her special dogs, Krystal, an American Eskimo, was quite highly trained and served as a comfort dog. Her last two dogs were Cande and Toby, long-haired Chihuahuas.
Beverly practiced several faiths over the years, including Lutheran, Episcopal and Methodist. She was a longtime attendee of Central Methodist Church in Traverse City.
Beverly was preceded in death by her parents, Thoralf and Annamae Eiken, and a cousin, Joyce.
She is survived by two daughters, Deidre and Margaret Stevens, of Sault Ste. Marie, MI; seven grandchildren by Meg's marriage; one sister, Judith, of Otisville, MI; many nieces and nephews; and several cousins and close friends, including Marion, Loretta and Martha.
Beverly enriched the lives of all around her and always had a positive attitude. Succumbing to depression was not her way. Setbacks motivated her. She was always determined to be independent, right up until her last day. After a fall and a broken hip in December of 2018, she was learning to walk again. She never wanted to be a burden on anyone.
Private burial services will be held at Grand Traverse Memorial Gardens May 18, 2019, at noon, with a reception to follow at Lifestory Funeral Home at 2 p.m. Friends, family and well-wishers are invited to attend the reception.
Memorial contributions in Beverly's name may be made to the Cherryland Humane Society in Traverse City, MI.