Beverly Anne Reardon

Start every day early and with a ‘Breath Prayer’ of gratefulness. Before you do anything else make your bed, it helps you start the day with accomplishment. The road less traveled is the way to get to work, especially if it’s familiar and you can drive 40 miles an hour or under. If possible, work for good people. Having a great boss will make every day infinitely better. Loving what you do is the gift you give yourself. Be a lifetime learner and show kindness…always! Whenever possible send a handwritten card, it tells people how special they are and helps them feel celebrated. Find joy in the gift of ordinary days and always keep your gratitude higher than your expectations. Those were just some of the key truths that defined the life of Beverly Anne Reardon. She was after all a Master teacher. Beverly poured into the lives of kindergarten children for 36 years spending most of her career at Wilson and Nichols Hills Elementary. She was Oklahoma City’s teacher of the year in 1991-1992 (& a finalist in 1998-1999) and is remembered by many of her former students as the most influential teacher they ever had.

Her classrooms were colorful and organized. Her commitment to give each child a love for learning was evidenced in the passionate and creative ways she taught. Children in her class earned ‘kindness keys’ (skeleton keys given to students who showed acts of kindness to their classmates). Decades later Beverly would discover that some of those students still carry their ‘kindness keys’ with them. Teaching her 5-year-old students about grief after the Oklahoma City bombing caught the attention of ABC National News.

Beverly’s unique way of teaching resulted in most of her students knowing how to read, learning about the injustice of discrimination and the importance of self-affirmation. After teaching more than a thousand young students, Beverly retired from Oklahoma City Public Schools, and began a bonus career teaching medical students at OU Health Science Center and OCU. Beverly became a valued instructor as a Standardized patient for first and 4th year medical students. 5 of those medical students, she had also taught in kindergarten.) Beverly taught another 28 years, and in 2017 won the Marianne Vannatta Award at OU for her teaching expertise. Everyone who knew Beverly would describe her as one of the kindest and most caring people they have ever known. She met Tim, the love of her life during Contact training (a 24-hour crisis hotline,) they volunteered hundreds of hours thru their church helping the physically disabled and the unhoused. As a 30-year breast cancer survivor, Beverly made cards and offered support for those facing their own cancer battle. After completing a bone marrow transplant, she began keeping a Gratitude Journal where she listed at least 5 things a day she was grateful for. A practice she did every day for 30 years.

Beverly sent handmade cards to family and friends daily, watched OU games with her much-loved football group, never missed watching a Thunder game (or talking sports with her grandsons.) She met at least twice a week with a special group of friends (The 80 Ladies,) played Bunco with her former principal and teacher friends, took yoga and exercise classes and scheduled weekly lunches with friends (some like Norma Ferguson she’d had for 60 plus years.) She had what friends called her ‘signature smile.’ Having perfected the art of being a good listener, Beverly was always asking questions of others, genuinely interested in how they were doing.

She was the mom who worked full time to support her children but always cooked breakfast and dinner, packed lunches, had a clean home (decorated for every season) and came to all of her kids sporting events and practices, every drama class or recital.

Her home was where her children and all the cousins spent long summer days in the pool (eating watermelon and cucumber sandwiches) Where rules were followed, homework finished, and encouragement was always in abundance.

In all circumstances she was consistent and a life force of unwavering love and support to her 3 children Deborah, Mark and Michael Mash, daughter in law Sally Warnick, her 7 grandchildren Blake, Taylor & Conner Hildenbrand, Eli Cain and Alina Moore, Shay and Quinn Moon, and 3 Great grandchildren, Scarlett, Sophia and Levi Hildenbrand. And her stepchildren Patrick and Amy Reardon, Anne and Mike Peck and their children Lexi & Ali Reardon and Patrick, Tim and Ashley Peck. 4 generations of Beverly’s family would describe her as an absolute treasure. The one who was always smiling and giving hugs in abundance. Never missing a family celebration (and always arriving with homemade chocolate chip cookies and brownies, deviled eggs or pasta salad) Beverly adored her sisters, 20 nieces and nephews, 22 grand nieces and nephews and 4 great grand nieces and nephews.

She was one of 5 girls born to Ruth and Howard Cain. The ‘5 B’s’ as they were known growing up, Barbara, Beverly, Betty, Billie and Brenda. They could (and did) talk for hours at family gatherings and on the phone. Their bond as sisters and friends was life long and was a testament to what loving someone well through every season of life really looks like.

Beverly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 27 years, Tim Reardon, her grandparents Lester and Icee Cain, her parents Howard and Ruth Cain, sisters Barbara Matlock and Betty Buck and grandnephew Bailey Andes.

A celebration of Beverly’s life will be held on Friday March 14th at 10:30 a.m. in the Chapel at Hahn-Cook/Street & Draper at 6600 N. Broadway Extension, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73116. Interment for Beverly and Tim will follow her service at Rose Hill Burial Park, 6001 NW Grand Blvd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118.

Beverly’s last request of her family and friends is that (if possible) they wear something colorful to her service. Red was her favorite color, and she wanted those attending to celebrate what she described as “A life of gratefulness, that was better than I knew to hope for.”