Beverly M. Eaton Rathbun

1932 - 2023

Beverly M. Eaton Rathbun

FRIENDSHIP - Beverly M. Eaton Rathbun, 90, of 15 Elmwood Ave, Friendship, passed away Thursday (March 16, 2023) at Wellsville Manor, after a lengthy illness.

Born Sept. 2, 1932, in Olean, she was the daughter of the late John H. and Esther I. Anderson Eaton. On March 30, 1955, in the First Methodist Church in Olean, she married Gary O. Rathbun, and the service was officiated by the late Reverend Herbert Harrison.

Beverly was a graduate of Olean High School, Class of 1950. After graduation, she was employed briefly by Aerovox, and then worked as a phone operator for Bell Telephone. After a two year stay in Brentwood, Mo., she and her husband moved to Friendship, where they have resided for the last 62 years.

She loved to travel with her husband extensively in the U.S. and Canada. When home she loved to knit and crochet. She was fondly known as the scrubber and dish cloth lady, having made and given away hundreds of each.

She devoted her life to being a great wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her favorite pleasure was working outside on her lawn and flower gardens, but also enjoyed cooking and swimming.

In addition to her husband, she is survived by a daughter, Suzanne (Randy Grattan) Gates; two sons, Richard (Kristine) Rathbun of Friendship and Bradley (Barbara) Rathbun of Burlington, Ky.; four grandchildren, James (Jessica) Rafferty, Megan (Brett) Miner, John (Aimee) Rathbun and Richard Rathbun; great-grandchildren, Emmy, John, Cecilia, Rhys and Jackson; and sisters-in-law, Joann, Greta, and Patricia.

Other than her parents, she was predeceased by a great-grandson, Ian Miner; a brother, Richard J. Eaton; and brothers-in-law, Rodney Rathbun, Douglas Rathbun, Erwin Harris and Donald Ungleich.

Friends and family are invited to a memorial service at 11 a.m. Friday, March 24, 2023, at the Friendship United Methodist Church, 31 E. Main St., Friendship. The Rev. Rebecca Worth will officiate. Burial will be at a later date in Maple Grove Cemetery, Friendship.

In lieu of flowers, please make memorials to Allegany County Hospice or to the Friendship United Methodist Church.

Arrangements are under direction of the Mark F. Rinker Funeral Home & Memorial Service, Inc., Cuba.