Beverly Bastow

Beverly Eleanor Bastow, our sweet mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away on May 10, 2024, at the age of 98.  She lived a healthy, engaged, fortunate, and fulfilling life.  Born on February 21, 1926, in Merced, California, to Miller Selb Morris and Velma Eleanor Faulkner, Beverly spent many childhood summers at her grandmother’s ranch, swimming in irrigation canals and hunting jackrabbits with her uncle.

Beverly met our father, Paul, during high school.  They were engaged on Christmas 1943 and were married on August 20, 1944, a remarkable 76 years of a loving marriage until Paul’s passing in 2021.  They lived in Colorado, Panama City, Florida, and Oklahoma following Paul’s multiple Air Force transfers.  When Paul received his discharge in 1948, they moved to San Jose, CA, where Paul finished college with the help of the GI Bill, and Beverly attended Armstrong Business College.

After relocating to Corvallis, OR, and then to Redwood City, CA, Paul and Beverly built their first home during a summer vacation in Los Altos, CA.  Beverly was a dedicated and talented homemaker and mother, making our homes beautiful and inviting.  Budgeting, gardening, housekeeping, maintenance of a fruit orchard, canning, home decorating, sewing clothing, and managing the care of four children were all things Beverly handled with ease.  She stayed active in our lives and served as a room mother, Brownie leader, Scout leader, and tireless chauffeur during our growing-up years.

Paul and Beverly built their second home in Los Altos Hills, CA.  A year later, Hewlett Packard transferred them to Boonton, NJ.  After six years in Boonton, Paul and Beverly purchased a 50-year-old home on 40 acres in Lebanon, NJ, in 1972.  They remodeled the house and subdivided the property, demonstrating their shared hard work ethic and dedication to their and their children’s future.  In 1976, Beverly took a full-time position as a medical transcriptionist at North Hunterdon Regional Hospital (NHR), during which time she was also the caregiver for her mother, Velma.  Beverly retired from NHR in 1993.  She joined an investment club, learning about stocks and educating anyone who would listen about the value of investing for one’s future.  She was a generous philanthropist, donating to causes that were important to her.  Reading and learning about investing became her life-long hobby.

In 2001, Beverly and Paul moved to Star Valley, AZ, to be closer to a family member.  They built their third home on a hilltop with a beautiful view of the Mogollon Rim.  Paul and Beverly enjoyed the theater and musicals in the local community.  Beverly volunteered at the Nearly New Shop, an auxiliary of the hospital, and served on the Scholarship Committee.  They lived there for 17 years before moving to an assisted living facility in Ahwatukee, AZ.   Beverly stayed active in each community she became a part of, staying upbeat, positive, and helpful to those around her.  Beverly was a dedicated mother, wife, and friend to many and will be missed by everyone who knew and loved her.  May you rest in peace, Mom.

Her four children survive Beverly: Marsha (Ross) Larson, David (Carol Madsen) Bastow, Susette (Richard) Call, Kathleen Bastow, and nine grandchildren and twenty-one great-grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her parents, Velma Faulkner and Miller Morris, her husband, Paul, and her stepbrother, Jim Ryan.  Services will be held at the Allen-Hall Mortuary in Logan, Utah, at 1:00 pm on May 30, 2024.  Friends and family are welcome to a viewing from 12:00 to 12:45 before the service.  Beverly will be buried in the Logan Cemetery in Logan, Utah.  In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Beverly’s name to your favorite charity.