Eleanor Jeanne (Kirby) Beyer, 82, of Normal, died on Saturday (August 5, 2017) at Heritage Health in Bloomington surrounded by her family. She is survived by her husband, Robert E. Beyer, Normal; Steven Beyer (Laurie), Bloomington; Robert K. Beyer (Jackie), Bloomington; grandsons Scott Beyer and Daniel Beyer, and step-grandchildren Abbey Verfurth and Glen Verfurth.
Eleanor was born on August 10, 1934 in Bloomington, IL, the daughter of Emmett and Margaret (Rae) Kirby. She was preceded in death by her parents and her two brothers, Oliver (Jeanne) Kirby and Robert (Mae) Kirby. Emmett Kirby was a long-time teacher at Bloomington High School, where he founded the Aepix yearbook and Aegis newspaper. Eleanor was very proud of her brother Oliver, who served in Army Intelligence during WW2 and is honored in the NSA Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. Eleanor attended Bloomington High School, and graduated in 1952 as class Valedictorian. She then attended Florida State University, where she was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, graduating cum laude in 1956.
She married Robert E. Beyer in October of 1956 at Chapel By the Sea in Clearwater, Florida. She and Robert enjoyed 60 beautiful years of marriage. Eleanor was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She worked at State Farm Insurance early in her career as an Education and Training Coordinator and spent the remainder of her time as a homemaker. She also served as an Elder at St. Luke Union Church in Bloomington, and was a president of the McLean County Chapter of the PTA in the 1970’s. She was an avid reader of all things, a life-long Cubs fan who truly enjoyed their World Series title in 2016, and she was proud of her staunch conservative values.
A private graveside service will be held at East Lawn Memorial Gardens in Bloomington. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society would be appreciated. Condolences may be made to eastlawn-bloomington.com.
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