Beverly Louise Rahlfs

Beverly was born on August 3, 1927, in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Adolph and Edna Boelkow Beckman. She grew up in a neighborhood of bungalow and two-family homes south of Logan Square and near the streets where her parents had grown up and where her grandparents had lived after immigrating from Germany. Beverly was confirmed at St. John’s Evangelical Church, where she first acquired the strong Christian faith that she maintained throughout her life. She attended Tuley High School, but dropped out in her senior year, at a time when the war had taken away most of the men and good jobs were plentiful. (Ending her education angered her brother Bob, but he was far away in the South Pacific and couldn’t exert much influence). On October 27, 1945, Beverly married Robert (Bob) Rader, who had just returned from service in Europe. They raised a daughter, Lynn, and a son, Jim.

When the children were older, Beverly worked part-time answering phones for a mail-order department store and later as a phone receptionist for a wholesale food seller—jobs that were well-suited to her outgoing nature and social skills. When Bob retired, they moved to Florida, living first in Pompano Beach and then at South River Village in Stuart. After Bob passed away, Beverly married Kurt Rahlfs, whom she had met at Redeemer Lutheran Church, and who had also recently lost his spouse. After Kurt’s passing, Beverly returned to South River, where she lived independently into her late 90’s and enjoyed playing bridge and mah-jongg with a wide circle of friends. Her friends were a mainstay when her sight and mobility deteriorated in her last couple of years.

Perhaps above all, she cherished the members of her family (and their pets), remembering every milestone, taking pride in their accomplishments, and delighting in their visits. Beverly will be remembered for her lively spirit, easy acceptance of and interest in people, ready smile and good humor, and decisiveness (sometimes leaving behind those who didn’t move at her speed).

Beverly was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands Robert Rader and Kurt Rahlfs, her brother Robert (Bob) Beckman, and sister-in-law Luci White (Lucille Beyermann Beckman).

Those surviving Beverly include her children: Lynn Buhrke and husband Bruce of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; James (Jim) Rader and wife Sharon Goldstein of Northampton, Massachusetts; her grandchildren: Jennifer Schultz and husband Reid of Kansas City, Missouri; Joel Buhrke and wife Sharon of Fleming Island, Florida; Louisa Rader of Knoxville, Tennessee; great-grandchildren Jack and Lily Schultz of Kansas City; nieces and nephews and many friends.