Beverly C. Stewart

We lost our mother and Oma, Beverly C. Stewart, on May 1st, 2024 after a long and valiant battle with both breast cancer and dementia. Passing away on May 1st seems significant given Bev’s love of flowers. Bev was born on December 13th, 1947 in San Jose, California. Her mother, Arlene, and father, Wesley Peterson, provided a wonderful childhood for her in various homes throughout what is now the Silicon Valley. Back then, the San Jose area was made up of small towns and fruit orchards. Bev was always a very outgoing person. As a young teen she loved riding the bus with her friends to the Woolworths in San Jose so they could buy trinkets with their allowance and have an ice cream treat at the ice cream bar.

While attending Homestead High School, Bev met Bob O’Brien and they were married while Bob played football at the University of Nevada. Less than a year later, their son, Bob IV was born. Shelley followed nearly four years later and then Amy 11 months after. Bob and Bev moved the family to several places including Nevada, Colorado, the Black Hills of South Dakota, Kansas, Virginia, New Jersey, Germany, and Missouri. Bev’s outgoing personality was perfect for an Army wife and for helping her children adjust with each move. One major highlight for Bev was living in Germany during the fall of the Iron Curtain. She watched history happen first hand and loved telling others about the experience. One of Bev’s most prized possessions was a piece of the Berlin Wall that she proudly displayed in her curio cabinet.

Bob and Bev divorced after the kids all left home and Bev relocated back to the San Jose area. There she became a Human Resources Director for a high tech company. Bev met her second husband, George Stewart, and they had many happy and fun years together in the San Jose area and in Angels Camp, California.

In 2022, Bev decided to move to Tallgrass Creek senior living community to continue to enjoy her retirement and be closer to her youngest daughter, Amy, in Kansas City. Bev made many friends at Tallgrass and absolutely loved her condo and the social activities there.

Education was very important to Bev. As a working mother with three kids, she never stopped pursuing her education and was so proud to have completed her Bachelors and Masters degrees. She instilled the value of education to all of her children and supported all of them as they pursued their own higher education goals.

Bev loved to travel and learn about new places and people of different backgrounds. She was able to travel to many places with friends and family. Her favorite trips were to Meteora, Greece, Peru, and Portugal, along with all of the travels she did throughout Europe with her daughters while living in Germany. Bev was one of the strongest people we’ve ever known. She fought breast cancer for the last 11 years and lived her life fully and continued to travel throughout her fight.

Bev was predeceased by her parents and her niece, Elizabeth Holtermann. She is survived by her son, Robert O’Brien IV and his wife Michele, daughter Shelley Johnson and her husband, Dana, and daughter, Amy and her husband, Bryan. The absolute loves of her life were her seven grandchildren that lovingly called her Oma (grandmother in German). Her grandchildren: Taylor O’Brien, Robert O’Brien V, Alyssa Peterson, Emily Peterson, Luke Johnson, Eric Johnson, and Caroline Johnson will all miss her greatly.

Bev’s family would like to thank her oncology teams at both NorthBay Health in Vacaville, California and Olathe Health in Olathe, Kansas. We’d like to thank Ascend Hospice for their tireless work to help make Bev comfortable in her final days. To quote Bev, “cancer sucks!” Despite missing her like crazy, we are relieved that Bev is now cancer free. If anyone is so inclined to make a donation to the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer’s Association in Bev’s honor, we know she would appreciate it.

To honor her memory, a celebration life will be held on Sunday, May 5, 2024, at 4PM at Tallgrass Creek Senior Living Community in the Bob Allen Theater, located at 13800 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS.

If you are unable to attend in person, you can join through live-stream by clicking the link below under services.

*Please bear in mind connection issues do arise and this is always a possibility with live-streaming.