April 19, 1951 - October 18, 2020
The family of Beverly O'Malley is devastated to announce her death on Sunday, October 18th. Beverly died at a time of her own choosing while surrounded by her family. She suffered from Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a cruel, fast paced, wasting neurological condition.
She leaves to mourn Joe, her husband of 46 years, mother Peggy, son Terence Joseph, daughter Amy Jeanette, son-in-law Ben Coulas, grandchildren Lydia, Deanna, Evan, Marie and Sarah, sisters Dee Sasseville (Ray) and Diane Krochter, and their families.
The daughter of Willy and Peggy Hansen, Beverly was born at Royal Columbian Hospital. She grew up in Cloverdale and graduated from Lord Tweedsmuir High School in 1968.
After making many "Tweedy friends," she completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at UBC in 1973. She worked as a nurse at Surrey Memorial, Royal Columbian and Peace Arch Hospitals and then became a nursing instructor at Douglas College.
Next, she worked in vaccination research and returned to teaching nursing at Kwantlen University while completing her Masters from Newcastle University of Australia. While at Kwantlen, she made notable contributions to curriculum development and organization.
Beverly was an educated and independent woman. "I may be directive, but I'm not bossy," was a favourite line. Occasionally Bev was accused of being judgemental. "There's nothing wrong with making judgements," she argued. "We do it all the time." Indeed, she was a person of integrity, though sometimes blunt, kind professionally.
Bev had lately become involved in community politics, line dancing, and yoga. She especially enjoyed seeing how many ways she could sneak healthy things into her baking (beet brownies, anyone?). She took a keen interest in civic, Canadian and US politics, and British television dramas.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Lily Leiderman Memorial Fund - TanzCentre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disorders. Online donations can
be made at: donate.utoronto.ca/give/show120
We love you, Bev. Let it run.