Beverly Ann (Hodges) Openshaw, age 81, daughter of Belton and Viola (Palmer) Hodges was born on February 20, 1940, in Phoenix, AZ. She passed away January 8, 2022, at Willow Care in Willow Springs, MO surrounded by family.
Beverly is preceded in death by her parents and husband, Walter “Nick” Openshaw.
Beverly is survived by two sons, Timothy Troy of Plato, MO and Kai of Queen Creek, AZ; one daughter, Kolbie Shea of Banks, ID; one sister, Karen Dunn of Phoenix, AZ; fourteen grandchildren; and ten great grandchildren.
Beverly married Walter “Nick” Openshaw on July 4, 1958, at the LDS Church in Phoenix, AZ. They were sealed together as a family at a later date in the Mesa, AZ temple. Beverly loved the church and working on family history. Her computer room was full of her work.
Another one of her loves, besides Nick, was books. She owned a bookstore in Arizona for a time and her love of reading followed her throughout her life. She would often be found reading late into the night. Her love of reading included church books, but also included many different genres.
She loved to travel and spend time with her family. She and Nick took the kids skiing and went on many adventures together. As they became grandparents, they traveled to see the grandkids.
The biggest adventure they took together was moving to Missouri in the early 1990’s. While this move took them away from some of their family, they were able to live out their dream of living in a rural setting. Beverly missed being close to everything but loved the opportunity to have peace and quiet. With her free time, she went back to school to become a teacher, graduating from Drury University with her master’s degree. She went on to teach at Cabool Middle School for years. She loved the opportunity to help children.
While Beverly will be missed by her family and friends, the legacy she left will be remembered forever. Until we meet again, love you more.
