Beverley Lou Hicks

Beverley Lou Hicks, aka "Nana," of Carbondale, Pa., passed away peacefully November 22, Saturday morning, surrounded in love by her family. Beverley was known as "Nana" to family, friends, doctors, nurses and store clerks. Surviving are her five children, Deborah Carey and husband, Michael, Locust Grove, Va.; James Jr., Columbia, Md.; John, Etters, Pa.; Alice Manley and husband, Thomas, Clarks Summit; and Judy Deck, Holton, Kan.; 16 grandchildren, 29 great-grandchildren; a sister, Barbara Mullens, of Painesville, Ohio; and a plethora of beloved in-laws, nieces, nephews, relatives and close friends.

Beverley, born July 5, 1941, in Honesdale, Pa., a small-town girl, traveled the world with the love of her life, James Raymond Hicks Sr., until his passing in 2001. They had been married 44 years at the time, and in love since they met in her mother, Mildred Gummoe's, Prompton Diner when both were 12 years old.

Beverley started the first women's bowling league at Valley Lanes, the first women's golf league at Skyline Golf Course, and she earned a hole-in-one at High Point Golf Course on October 7, 1997. She loved golf, the women with whom she golfed, and the times she traveled to golf with her husband, Jim, on courses up and down the east coast. Her other passion, bingo, was so strong her husband, Jim, often quipped, "Beverley's obituary will be listed, 'Under the B, Beverley." For her, bingo was more than a pastime, more than a game, it was an art and a ministry - art, because her short arms and quick mind could race across more cards than any person we knew, and ministry, because she offered laughter, friendship, snacks and sometimes food to friends across the tables.

"Nana" made puzzles out of broken cookies, bunnies out of mercurochrome-covered boo-boos, and left smiles on the faces of all she encountered. Her zest for life led her to parasail twice, go hot air ballooning, and recently, zip-lining over the ocean and forests in Mexico. Her greatest joy was preparing feasts for family and friends, "Nana Baskets" for nurses and hospital staff, offering love and hospitality to all she met. Though we know she and her beloved Jim are dancing once more, those of us left here on earth, miss her, remembering her with a smile, and knowing she loved us more.

Friends may call Monday night from 5 until 8 p.m. at Oliver R. Shifler & Joseph W. Scotchlas Funeral Home, 62 N. Main St., Carbondale, PA 18407.

The service will be held Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. in the First United Methodist Church, Church Street, Carbondale. Interment to follow at Our Mother of Sorrows Cemetery, Finch Hill.