In 1950, her best friend June set Beverly up on a blind date to meet Harry. Prayer and glowing praise from his stepmom Juliette convinced her he was the one. It was an extremely short courtship that led to marriage on New Year’s Eve that year. They say Uncle Sam paid for a 2-year honeymoon as Harry was never deployed overseas. The two lived off base in Williamsburg, Virginia before returning to Nebraska at the end of the Korean Conflict.
Together they built and finished a home in Benson Omaha. As the family grew, Beverly cherished being a wife, mother, and homemaker. She and Harry were leaders of life, purely by effort and commitment, serving and helping others in everything they did. She was a role model of contentment, never asking for more or begrudging the hand delt in her storied life. Her positive - but stubborn - “can do” attitude kept her going. Even after Harry’s passing in 2002 and her son Jeffrey in 2019, Beverly fought on. She made it to weddings, and the birth of two great grandchildren. Beverly’s spirit touched everyone, even through her last days. Many care team and hospice staff related just how special she was. In the end she was confident in her salvation through Christ, and together we celebrate her life this side of heaven.
Beverly is preceded by her husband Harry, her son Jeffrey, and survived by her son Martin and his wife Lora; her grandson Ryan, his wife Miriam and great grandchildren Forrest and Winter; and her granddaughter Amanda and her husband Jon; and all her extended family and friends.
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The Life and Stories of Beverly Jean Wade
Compiled and retold by Ryan E. Wade
February 15th, 2023
Forward:
Over twelve years ago, my grandmother and I started a series of recorded interviews. In them she told stories of her family, husband, ancestors, and memories of her life. In high school, we both stayed up late for these conversations. In college, I visited her several times during my summer internships for Union Pacific. What follows is a retelling of those stories, condensed and consolidated into a single tale.
Beverly Jean Wade:
At the advice of his brother – Edgar and Martha Gaylord moved to Shelton, Washington for work in the logging industry. While their time here would be short, they welcomed their first daughter Beverly Jean into the family on September 21st, 1929. Edgar’s asthma made work in the sawmill a poor fit, and the family soon returned to Garden City, Kansas; a place of Edgar’s wanderlust and where Beverly’s older half-brothers – Otis and Vernon – had settled down with children of their own. It was here – in the grim haze of the Dustbowl, the uncertain shadow of the Great Depression – that Beverly took her first steps, played with her nieces and nephews, and hid in the sun-dried sugar beet fields of her neighbor.
When Beverly’s grandfather – August Dittmann – passed away in 1939, the family moved to Atlantic, Iowa at Martha’s insistence. It was a homecoming of sorts: the place her parents first met; where her many relatives and late grandparents called home. Iowa proved to be a stunningly green oasis for a girl who had only known the dusty plains of Kansas. It was here that the young Beverly started to thrive, and the family's fortunes improved. From a short flight up in the sky when an aviator came through Atlantic, to climbing the town water tower; she always had the heart of a tomboy. Beverly spent countless hours watching Edgar as he repaired the neighbors' things in their garage; and would often help with his custodial work at the Carnegie Library. In some ways he was more like a grandfather, but they were certainly close. Beverly also bonded with the youngest of her half-brothers: Forrest. She sent star struck correspondence during his service days of World War II, reading the letters to her parents and giddily telling her friends. She swooned over the day he picked her up from school on a motorcycle, and later struck out on her first cross country road trip through the mountains to visit him in California.
In high school, she learned shorthand and typing. She nurtured a love of singing, even cutting a vinyl record of a solo performance. After graduation, she landed a coveted job earning $190 a month at the Power and Light Department, one of two buildings in town with air-conditioning. Somewhere along the way Beverly met her lifelong best friend, June Weinhammer, filling a photo album with pictures of their time together. Then in August of 1950, June would set up the oft-told blind date where Beverly would first meet Harry Robert Wade.
Their courtship was a fast one, on account of the Korean war. He proposed that year on her birthday. But while she didn’t say yes at first, they kept writing letters – an arrangement that lasted three months until Harry sent word of his furlough. Beverly hopped the next bus for Omaha, and – after glowing praise from his step mother Juliette – went to meet him at the train station. This former wallflower was in love. Without a moment to lose, the couple left for Atlantic, gathered the priest in the Gaylord home, and married on New Year’s Eve, 1950.
They say Uncle Sam paid for a 2 year honeymoon: A rich and vibrant time off base in collonial Williamsburg, Virginia. Harry was never deployed overseas and Beverly joined the typing pool on base. When the conflict in Korea ended, they returned to Omaha. Harry took night classes and became a draftsman for Union Pacific. Beverly found work in the Omaha Printing company and eventually got a well-paying job as a switchboard operator and file clerk for the Chevrolet Motor Division. The couple designed, built, and finished a $12,500 home in Benson Omaha, laying down roots and a place to belong. This was just the start of their 51 loving years together.
The family grew, first with the adoption of their son Jeff, then with the birth of Martin. They raised two fine boys and invested in their community: church, scouting, the American Legion. Beverly even operated as a seamstress off of the kitchen table and took up cross-stitching as a lifelong hobby. When it came time to retire, they bought plans for a camper van and converted the vehicle to a home on wheels. They struck out with their own wanderlust: venturing the country from coast to coast, meeting old relatives and new friends along the way. The two enjoyed many years of retirement, seeing through the birth of their grandchildren Ryan and Amanda.
Even after Harry's passing in 2002 and her son Jeffrey in 2019, Beverly fought on. She made it to weddings, holidays, and the birth of two great grandchildren. Her positive – but stubborn – “can do” attitude kept her going. That spirit touched everyone, even through her last days. Beverly Jean Wade passed away in the company of family – Friday February 10th, 2023. She was 93 years old.
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