Bev (Beverly Viola Stefans) lived a long and wonderful life, sharing challenges and enjoying pleasures across many chapters of her life. She was said to “never know a stranger”. Born in 1929 in Rochester, New York, she was raised there and in southern California, where she and her mother Lorine, and sisters Sylvia and Ruth formed strong and special lifelong bonds. They shared loves of art, music, the seasonal changes of the northeast, and the sun and sea of California.
As a young woman, Bev attended Ithaca College and aspired to be an actress, dancer, and model. She quickly moved back to Glendale, California where she lived for much of her life. In 1951, she met David Kurtz and married him while he was on leave recovering from injuries sustained in Korea.
With a lifelong love of children, Bev threw herself into the role of wife, mother, neighborhood pied piper, and “other mother” for many of her children’s friends. She raised son Jeff, daughter Susan (deceased), and son Garrison to be responsible, engaged, adventurous, and generous people. Having a gift with children that needed something extra, she noted in later years that if things had been different, she would have become a special education teacher.
As her years focusing primarily on her role as a mother were drawing to a close, she became a motorcycle enthusiast, and explored her interests as a visual artist. After her husband David died suddenly in 1979, she began a period of reinvention as a businesswoman, small plane pilot, and lover of sports cars. When she moved to Ventura, California, her friendships and her work as a visual artist blossomed. She sold many of her watercolor and acrylic works and held shows with the Buenaventura Art Association. She also traveled with her friends and her children, and hosted summer weeks at the beach with grandchildren living in other states. She dated several wonderful men during this phase of her life, having new adventures in the air and on the sea, while tackling new artistic endeavors. Yet, she savored her independence and remained single for the remainder of her life.
In her later years, after providing loving in-home care and hospice care for three family members, she decided that she needed to be closer to one of her son’s to be prepared in case she needed similar loving support. In 2015, she moved to a home on the Puget Sound in Seattle and garnered many new friends in her condominium community, and among her son’s friends who call her “Malibu Bev”. Bev’s real middle name was inspired by a dear Aunt Vi who lived life fully and Bev referred to as “Auntie Mame”. Bev often quoted the line from the film: “Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death”. She was determined to live life fully and help you to do so as well, if she could. She inspired people with her artistic creativity, encouragement, sharp wit, fashion sense, and interesting stories from a long and varied life.
Bev is survived by many “chosen” children who are too numerous to name. She is also survived by her loving family: son Jeff (Stephanie), son Garrison (Jerry); grandchildren Alyssa (Junior), Marissa (Mike), Ariana (Misty), and Cameron; great grandchildren Mia, Gianna, Jonathan, Faye, and Jax; nieces Sandy, Maril (Ken), and nephews Steve (Marian), and Steven (Ralph); and great niece Jamia (Brian), and great nephews Mark and David, and great great niece Ashley (Thomas).
A celebration of life will be held at Alki Bathhouse, 2701 Alki Ave SW, Seattle, Washington on October 3rd, at 4:00pm with reception following. The celebration will be filled with love and laughter as Bev would have wanted. For more information or to let us know that you will join us on October 3rd, please contact [email protected].
Those wishing to honor Bev with a donation can do so at Operation Smile, or Women for Women International, which advances opportunities for women and girls.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.forestlawn-seattle.com for the Kurtz family.
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