Beverly Rains

A few days before she left this mortal plane, Beverly Jean Casey Rains said, "I'm ready to go home." The nurse asked, "Where is home?" Beverly promptly said, "Heaven." Once Beverly made up her mind to do something, it would always happen.
On Sunday, May 28, 2023, she went to Heaven, the home she longed for. She is preceded in death by her husband Glendle Rains, her father, Samuel Ozias Casey, and her mother, Katherine Lee Gallamore. She leaves behind her six children, their spouses, eighteen grandchildren, and twenty-six great-grandchildren.
All of her family knew and even expected her to leave us soon, but in the end, it was unexpected. Beverly always made clear what she wanted to do--even if it took years, she did as she wanted. Her industrious nature and willingness to do everything she could for everyone was the hallmark of Beverly Rains.
Beverly grew up in Texas and Oklahoma. She was born in Okarche, Oklahoma, on October 24, 1934, during the Depression. She learned the lessons of making do with what you have, creating a loving life despite hardship, and working hard together.
Beverly bore six children. The first child, Barbara Jean Casey, was born at a tender age for Beverly. One of her brothers and his wife, who yearned for a little girl, adopted Barbara Jean. They were loving and kind parents at a time when open adoption was not a social construct in our country. Beverly got to see her daughter frequently and loved her not only as an aunt but as a mother too.
In 1949, Beverly met and married Glendle Rains on December 8, 1949, in Bethany, Oklahoma. She told the story of her marriage officiated by E. G. Theus, a Nazarene minister. After the wedding, they all went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Williams for Kool-Aid and angel food cake.
Beverly and Glendle's first home was a small trailer in Mr. and Mrs. Williams's backyard. During this time, Beverly was a homemaker and pregnant with their daughter Glenda Jean Rains in Oklahoma City. Glenda was born on October 16, 1950, at Deaconess Hospital in Oklahoma City, one week before Beverly's 16th birthday.
Shortly after Glenda's birth Beverly and Glendle moved to Broken Bow, Oklahoma, where Glendle became the pastor of the local Nazarene church. Beverly was pregnant with the next daughter, Cynthia Ann Rains, born on June 10, 1952, in DeQueen, Arkansas-the nearest place with a hospital.
When their pastorate in Broken Bow concluded, they moved to Stigler, Oklahoma, where Glendle became the Nazarene pastor. While in Stigler, Beverly was pregnant with the next daughter. She was born in Oklahoma City after a fast ride from Stigler to Oklahoma City so Beverly could be attended to in a hospital. Rebecca Gail Rains was born on September 8, 1953, in Oklahoma City at Wesley Hospital.
The family moved back to Oklahoma City and soon bought a house on Fain Street in Bethany, Oklahoma. The street is now N.W. 49th Street. We never learned how the road came to be named Fain. After a few years of living in the house, which we thought was a mansion but was actually very small, Beverly became pregnant again. One of her sisters gave her a cute picture of a little boy saying the picture would be the only way Beverly would have a son. Her sister was wrong. This time mother birthed her first son, Glendle Ralph Rains, born on August 22, 1957.
The final child Beverly gave birth to was David Theodore Rains, born on June 20, 1961. The pregnancy was difficult for Beverly, including dealing with rheumatic fever. She spent much of the pregnancy in bed during that time. When David was born two months early, he was the joy and delight of the family. The sisters especially loved having a baby to pester.
Beverly's children have given some insight into what their mother meant to them.
Glenda's thoughts included the following:
Momma was a frugal woman and the only woman her children ever knew who could make a silk purse out of a sow's ear-nearly literally. For example, old clothes were given to her, and she would wash them in her ringer washing machine, hang them out in the Oklahoma sun, and carefully rip out the seams. She ironed the fabric hand-me-downs and fashioned shirts and dresses for her children. She often didn't have patterns but would measure her children and draw the patterns on grocery sacks. She made us coats as well. She even made our underwear-sometimes for the girls to match their dresses! We won't say which one of the girls, at Sunday School no less, showed off her new underwear matching her new dress.
Momma taught us the basics of gardening, weeding, harvesting the garden, canning and freezing the harvest, and even how to cook wild game. Give Beverly a couple of skinned and cleaned rabbits or squirrels with a few potatoes and carrots, and you would be sitting in her kitchen eating a fabulous stew. She could bake bread, cakes, and cookies. She even learned how to decorate cakes like a professional. She made the best fried frog legs and catfish you've ever eaten.
She had no qualms about killing a snake in the garden or chasing the rabbits away from the beets and carrots growing. However, one day Ralph made his way into the pantry while Momma and Daddy were gone for a few hours. He ate several quarts of canned beets. He had colorful urinary output for quite some time.
Whatever was needed, she could figure out a way to make everything the way she thought it should be. Glenda's favorite dress, which she was still wearing when she met her future husband, was the Dorothy dress like in The Wizard of Oz, Beverly made from blue and white checked and white flour sacks.
Despite the frugality and hard work of her life, she made sure her children never thought they were poor. Imagine their surprise years later to find they had been poor but felt blessed with all the care Beverly took of her children.
Cindy's thoughts included the following:
Mother was a kind, loving mother. She was willing to teach you anything that she knew. She also was willing to help with any of my projects. In addition, she had a sense of humor beyond compare. Her ability to quickly respond to people hilariously was unmatched. I would think about how to respond several days later.
One of my fondest memories is at the Rains family reunion. Everyone was displaying their talents, and Joe Keith asked if anyone else had a talent they wanted to share. Mom raised her hand. It stunned everyone. Mom walked up to the front of the crowd. She said very professionally, "I'm going to show you how to disco." Everyone gasped. You see, the Nazarene church didn't believe in dancing. Mom kept a straight face and continued. She said, "Dis go here, and Dis go here." Moving her feet to different positions. Everyone roared and clapped loudly for her. Since then, we have had videos of her performing her "Disco."
Mother always took the time to play games with us. Our days started early in the morning, around 5:30, and ended after the bakery closed and all dishes were finished and floors swept and mopped. She loved to play 42 or rummy. She usually won also. Grandkids have played poker with her and lost. She is relentless about her games.
Mother loved to sew. She had made all of our clothes. Even up until I was in high school. After I went to work in Paris, Texas, she sent me a box of clothes she had made. Suits, dresses, skirts, and blouses. Shortly after I received that box at work, I was told that I was not partner material because I did not buy my clothes at the local dress shop. I couldn't afford them. I had five children at home at the time and made $13,000.00 a year. Barely enough to keep food on the table.
Mother also loved to plant flowers and work in the flower beds. After Dad passed away, she had a few plants left over and was trying to decide where to produce them. She said, "Go get me your Dad's shoes." The shoes were fetched and she began filling them with potting soil. I asked, "Why are you doing that?" She replied, "He always complained about me working so hard in the flower beds. So now he can have plants in his shoes." I took a picture and sent it to her doctor. He laughed and said, "I've never heard of anyone doing that. Your mom is special." Mother also loved to paint. She could paint anything. I have a picture of Grandma's Quilt, as she called it. She was showing my next to youngest son how to feather in trees on the landscape, and before we knew it, she had finished the painting. I cherish this painting to this day. It is now over 30 years old.
Becky's thoughts included the following:
Momma was always a kind and loving woman for all her children and everyone around her. Some of my favorite memories of Momma are how she stayed up late on Saturday evenings to iron our clothes and polish our shoes for Sunday morning church. She put our polished shoes beside the bedroom door on Saturday night. I still love the smell of shoe polish! She taught me how to sing Victory in Jesus and always made pockets for me on every outfit. I loved when she pitched to me in Tecumseh's front yard. She came to every one of my graduations, sewed clothing for Weddings and events, and even woke us up at 3:00 am to drive to OKC to watch the Moon Landing. I loved eating meals, then clearing the table for game time and conversations. I most especially loved getting Momma laughing until Cindy would start to snort. What a treat it was to eat peach cobbler at Swadley's. I cherished Mom going with the kids and me to bowl with the grandkids. Her greatest accomplishment was raising productive children and grandchildren. I most loved Momma because she loved us all and cared for us.
Ralph's thoughts included the following:
The most frequent thing I heard when walking the hall of Medical Park West, where Momma spent a few years at the end of her life, was, "She's so sweet and kind." I would have to say I agree. Momma always tried to make others feel comfortable and helped where she could, even in those last few years.
I remember once when I was downsizing an artist's easel for a work situation and had the parts lying on the floor. As I was putting it back together, Mom stood beside me and watched as I worked. In a minute, she said, "You don't want to do that." I almost assumed those were the words of an aging woman who didn't have a clue. Thankfully I said, "Why not?" She then proceeded to tell me why what I was doing was incorrect and how it should be done instead. She was right. While her short-term memory failed, her cognitive abilities remained a little longer. Her problem-solving ability and sense of humor lasted the longest.
Her tenacity is the thing I loved the most. She was a warrior and grinder. Her life, for the most part, was never easy, but she always plowed forward. Occasionally, she would falter, but she always got back on the horse and kept going.
David's thoughts included the following:
The thing I remember the most about Momma is how she hated that I loved to play behind their bakery in Tecumseh. For a little boy, the allure of the back of the bakery was profound, mainly because the back of the bakery was where piles of stuff the feed and seed store were throwing out. One day I came into the bakery with a little red hen. Momma fussed at me to get rid of the chicken. She said, "It's no good, David." I said, "She is good. See," I held out my hand to Momma, "She laid an egg." So Little Red Hen became Momma's favorite chicken. She took her home and treated her like a pet. From time to time, she'd lay an egg-sometimes above Glenda's bed and 'splat' the egg would fall right on her head.
I also loved hanging out in the bakery with Momma. My fondest memories of Mom were the times of me "helping" her in the bakery. Getting pie dough scraps and making my own pies, and eating the gooey center tops of the layer cakes so they'd stack flat. She was always kind and loving to me and eager to teach me whatever I asked.
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Beverly Rains went to be with her Lord on May 28, 2023. She was 88 years old. She died under the care of Hospice after a long and fulfilling life. Beverly was born October 24, 1934, to Samuel Ozias Casey and Katherine Lee Gallemore. Her maternal grandparents were Charles A. Gallemore and Annie D. Crockett (yes, we're kin to Davy Crockett). Her paternal grandparents were Samuel Harris Casey and Martha Dewella Riggs.
Beverly completed her formal education in Hermleigh, Texas, through the eighth grade. Her further education was obtained through life, and she never let anything get her down. She was a great mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and loving aunt. She also loved all her church people and loved serving the Lord.
Beverly married Glendle Rains on December 9, 1949. They had a 65-year marriage until Glendle passed away on April 5, 2015. They pastored several churches in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas. They also had a bakery to help supplement their income.
Beverly loved sewing, painting (many of us have some of her paintings), and crafting. She could make a shack look like a mansion.
Beverly was preceded in death by her parents; grandparents; Glendle Rains; a grandchild, Glen David Timmons Thomas; and a great-grandson, Jacob Daniel Causey. Her siblings, Martha Holland, Harris Casey, Margie Freeman, Austin Casey, Oscar Casey, Delbert Casey, Doris Lee Reynolds, and Elida Mae Burris.
Beverly is survived by Barbara Jean Casey Mills (Bob), Vancouver, Oregon, Glenda Jean Rains Clemens (David), of North Bend, WA, Cynthia Ann Rains Brumley (John), of Oak Grove, LA, Becky Gail Rains Graham (Cheryl Eimer), of Fort Worth, TX, Glendle Ralph Rains (Cheryl), of Oklahoma City, OK, and David Theodore Rains (Darla) of Hot Springs Village, AR. She is also survived by seventeen grandchildren, twenty-five great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces and nephews.
Michael Rains, Matthew Rains, Mark Rains, Toby Causey, Perry Thomas, and Joe Thomas will be pallbearers.
Services will be at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, June 1st, 2023, at Mercer-Adams funeral home. Family visitation will be from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31st, 2023.
We encourage everyone to wear bright-colored clothing to celebrate her life.