Beverly Stearns

Beverly Stearns died December 11, 2009, having spent her final days at home with her beloved family and pets. Beverly was born in Tampa and lived most of her life here. She often said her major accomplishment and greatest happiness was her two children and four grandchildren. She graduated from Hillsborough High School, received a BA from the University of Florida and a MA from University of South Florida. Beverly taught public school 17 years in Hillsborough County before going on to become a Systems Supervisor at GTE Data Service. She left GTE to work for the Dutch telephone company in The Hague, Holland, where she remained for 3 years. With Europe still in her blood, she moved on to work for AFORA, NL in Paris, France for 4 years. While living in Paris, Beverly had the opportunity to work in Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Manchester, enjoying the differences in culture and life style. She returned to the U.S. to work for CITI Bank as an Application Development Manager until she retired in 2008. Beverly has a long history with the Spanish Lyric Theatre. At the Alliance Francaise, she was past president and on the board of directors. Beverly fought a long courageous battle with cancer. She is predeceased by her mother, Katherine Stearns, father, Everett Stearns, and aunt, Louise Brinkley. She is survived by her daughter, Lara White (Tracy), son, Eric Haeck (Carol), and her grandchildren, Rachel White, Allie Haeck, Zoe Haeck and Ryan White, all of Apollo Beach, Florida, her sister, Diane Buerhaus of Sugar Hill, Georgia, and her beloved dogs, Jonasz and Apache. Beverly blessed and enriched the lives of her family and everyone she met. She will be missed deeply. She was also blessed to have developed many life-long friends. Those friends were exceptionally caring to her and the family during her final days. Memorial services will take place at 11:00 on December 19, 2009 at Calvary Lutheran Church, 5309 US Highway 41 N, Apollo Beach, Florida 33572. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Moffitt Cancer Center, CARE Animal of Sun City Center or Lifepath Hospice.