| Name |
Beverley Jean Bruner [1, 2] |
| Birth |
6 Apr 1929 |
Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana  [2, 3, 4] |
| Gender |
Female |
| Residence |
9 Apr 1929 |
Montana Children's Home Society, Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana [1] |
|
| Adopted |
24 May 1930 |
Livingston, Park County, Montana [1] |
- By Ralph Bruner & Elsie Johnson. Name changed to Beverley Jean Bruner
|
| Anecdote |
- The original birth certificate for Beverley J. Bruner lists her name as (unnamed) Mabee and lists her father as
unknown.
At the time she was placed in the orphanage on on April 9, 1929, her name is shown as Norma Mabee. John Francis Hays of Ashland, NE, is listed as the father of Norma Mabee (Beverley J. Bruner) on the Montana Children's Home Society, Child's Personal and Family Record, dated 9 Apr 1929.
In 2019 DNA matches were listed in 23andMe and Ancestry.com. With the assistance of a genetic genealogist it was clearly shown that Beverley is the descendant of James Addison Hayes and Francis Asbury Cremer. The only place where these two ancestral lines meet is with the marriage of Ralph Kenneth Hays and Etta Emily Cremer. This couple had four children - three daughters and one son (Francis Hays). Since Edythe Vyvyan Mabee is the biological mother then Francis Hays is the biological father. It is thought that Francis did not know he was Norma/Beverly's father
|
| Residence |
1995 |
7712 NE 14th Street, Vancouver, Clark County, Washington [5] |
| Obituary |
Mar 2021 |
Vancouver, Clark County, Washington [6] |
- Beverley Jean (Bev) Anderson, 91, passed away on March 6, 2021, in Battle Ground, WA due to cancer. Since 2017 she had been living with her daughter and son-in-law in Redmond, WA until she became ill on February 22, 2021 and was moved to an assisted living facility in Battle Ground.
Beverley was born April 6, 1929 in Helena, Montana and was originally named Norma Mabee. Her mother was Edythe Vyvyan Mabee, and her father was Francis Hays. She was placed in an orphanage three days after her birth. On May 5, 1929 she was adopted by Ralph W. and Elsie M. (Johnson) Bruner and was raised in Livingston, MT. She had one brother, Albert W. Bruner, born to Ralph and Elsie Bruner in December 1929.
During World War 2 her family relocated to Vancouver, eventually settling in Camas. She graduated from Camas High School in 1947. On March 27, 1948, she married Robert Leichner of Vancouver and had five children, one son and four daughters. In 1961 they divorced. In 1965 she married Harry B. Funkhouser. They divorced in 1977. In 1980 she married Robert D. Anderson, who died in 1989. In the 1990s she and Eugene R. Bastian, a high school boyfriend, became partners until his death in 2011. She resided in Vancouver from 1948 until 2017.
From the time she was adopted Bev maintained close relationships with her adopted family. On numerous occasions she traveled to Montana to attend Bruner family reunions. The most recent Bruner family reunion was held in the Dupuyer, Montana in July 2019. She had a wonderful time seeing her childhood friends and spent long hours into the night in conversation.
Bev worked before she was married but left the workforce to raise her children. After her children were older, she returned to the workforce and was employed at Custom Aluminum and later at Tektronix until her retirement. She was a highly active woman and lovingly raised her children. In her 50s she took up wind surfing. In her 60s she went on a cross country motorcycle trip which lasted for several months, traveling across the northern US to the Prince Edward Islands in Canada then down the East coast to Florida across the south and southwest, then home by way of the west coast. In 2007 she went to Europe to visit her granddaughter and her family in Germany. While in Europe she toured many places, especially Paris and Venice, two cities she very much wanted to see.
Bev is survived by five children, Robert M. Leichner, Sharon L. Miller, Randye L. Gear, Cindy A. Lacy, and Susan W. Leichner; seven grandchildren and eighteen great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her brother, Albert W. Bruner in 2013, and one grandchild in 2013.
Beverley was greatly loved and was a friend to everyone she met. She accepted people as they were and would always offer to help someone in need.
At her request there will not be viewing, and she will be cremated. A memorial service will be held at Evergreen Memorial Gardens, Vancouver, WA (360) 892-6060 later in the summer.
|
| Reference Number |
23377 |
| Death |
6 Mar 2021 |
Mallard Landing Assisted Living, Battle Ground, Clark County, Washington [7] |
| Person ID |
I23220 |
Maybee Society |
| Last Modified |
7 Apr 2024 |
1929 - 2021 (91 years)
