Beverly Beryl MacCallum

Beverly Beryl Cleveland Mac Callum was born Genevieve Elizabeth Boehm on October 15, 1920 in St Cloud Minnesota to parents Nickolaus Boehm and Hilma Anderson. She was quickly adopted by Arthur and Anna Anderson Cleveland. Anna was the only mother she ever knew growing up. She was raised in Detroit, Michigan where she graduated from Central High School and later from secretarial school. She worked at Detrex Chemical Company where she met her husband, Douglas Archibald MacCallum. After she converted to the Catholic faith, they were married and had seven children together. In 1956, the family, two parents and six children, drove across country in a 1952 Chevrolet from Detroit to Whittier California for Douglas's new job. The family settled into the California life style easily and naturally, and soon, another baby was born, thus completing the family. Partly because she was an only child, Beverly always wanted a large family, and she certainly achieved that goal. Her children are: Michael, Carol (Miller), Ann (deceased), Scott, Douglas Jr (deceased), Beth (Wells), and Bruce. Her children always brought her the greatest joy in life. Beverly was active as a Boy Scout Den Mother and also as a Girl Scout leader. She was always ready to help with school projects and still managed to be a wonderful cook. In addition to her beloved children, other life long passions of Beverly's were reading and swimming. Beverly went to college at Rio Hondo Junior College where she found she had a natural talent as a writer. She pursued her degree and ultimately landed a position with the State of California as a psychiatric technician at Lanterman State Hospital in Pomona. After a fulfilling career working with the developmentally disabled, Beverly retired. Well, she retired from her job, but she found plenty of new things to do. She became a much honored volunteer at the Pomona Public Library and continued her association with Lanterman by becoming a patient advocate. She continued with these and many other activities until six months before her death. During the years that she was so busy with work or volunteering, another great joy arrived for Beverly--her grandchildren. She had eleven grandchildren: Benjamin, Erin, John, Christopher, Jason, Eric, Stuart, Sebastian, Madison, Douglas, and Austen, and was involved intimately in all their lives. Recently, Beverly became a great grandmother to two new members of the family and had one more expected next year. For all 94 years of her life, Beverly brought love, joy, and comfort to all who knew her, but especially to her family. Her positive outlook, generosity of spirit, and kind thoughtfulness will serve us all as examples of how to live.