Beverly Varon
Funeral services were held on Wednesday, July 27th at 1:30 pm at Evergreen Washelli.
Beverly Varon was born February 11, 1948, the oldest of 4 children to Harry and Rae Varon. She graduated Franklin High School in 1966 and then she went to the University of Washington.
Following that she worked at the Piccadilly Corner Olympic Hotel as a cocktail waitress. Then she worked at Rainier Bank and Metropolitan Credit Union, first as a teller and then as a loan officer.
Bev was very active in Hadassah, serving as treasurer and president. It was a very important charity for her. Bev was a lifetime member of SBH and always made generous donations.
Bev loved to travel, she went on many cruises with her girlfriends. Her last cruise was with her father when he was 92 years old when they went to the Panama Canal. When they were on the cruise Beverly and Harry complained that they couldn’t see anything because Bev was too short to see over the people in front of her and Harry because of his poor eye sight!
After Bev’s mother passed away she moved in with her dad to look after him. For seven years she put her life on hold to take care of him along with her siblings. She never felt that it was a burden, she took it on as a loving daughter showing the upmost respect for the man she admired the most her father. Many would have seen it as Bev sacrificing her life for her dad. But of course Bev didn’t see it like that she saw it as a special opportunity to spend time with her dad.
Bev had many friends but her two closest friends were Marsha Pressman and Carol Bernstein Aleha Hashalom. Marsha was a fantastic friend throughout Bev’s many years’ illness, she was always there for her during the many chemo sessions. They talked all the time, they were like sisters.
Bev loved to shop, her favorite tv channel was QVC. she really enjoyed going to craft fairs and pop concerts but more than anything Bev loved people. She had a phenomenal memory for relationships. She had a story for every occasion and was a great story teller. She was really interested in what was going on in your life. She never let you think for one moment that she was scared or worried. She handled her cancer with such dignity and courage.
I once asked Bev, where did you learn to always be so optimistic, so upbeat. And she told me that her parents instilled such warmth and encouragement that she couldn’t imagine life any other way. She told me how she took Spanish one year in high school and the teacher was so condescending to her every time she mixed up her ladino and Spanish.
She was so upset one evening that Harry asked why she was upset and Harry told her, no one has the right to make you feel that way. If that’s the way the teacher is making you feel then you don’t have to take the Spanish. This was coming from a man who valued education so highly. He would give presents to all the kids when they got As on their report cards and tests. Bev, decided to persevere with her studies and she worked really hard and she got a C. Harry was so proud of her he gave her a present as if she had got an A.
Bev learned from this experience a number of lessons A) She would never give up on things no matter what. B) The importance of being encouraging to others and C) To not let negative comments and thoughts get the better of her.
One of Bev’s disappointments, was that she never learned to read Hebrew, but that didn’t stop Bev coming to my weekly Torah portion class whenever she was physically able. She would ask great questions and she would bring along, Renee and her friends to class too.
Bev was a beloved aunt to all her nieces and nephews, to all her cousins, her brothers and sister. To the whole family. On behalf of Isaac, Rene and Jack I want to thank and acknowledge all the cousins, nieces and nephews and friends who have helped so much over the months and years with Bev.
Everyone visited Bev during her hospice care. Many of us find it very hard visiting someone in hospice but Bev had such a personality that she always turned the topic to talking about you, or something fun or exciting happening or a great story. There was no self-pity, no feeling sorry for herself. It was for this reason that we all came to love Beverly and why we are all feeling the way we are right now. We got so much from visiting and spending time with her. She enriched our lives and we are the poorer without her.
Greg Roer put it best about Bev’s life: By teaching us how to die, she taught those of us who were with her in these last few months, how to live. She taught us to smile when things are going good, to smile when things are going bad, to live life up until the very end with dignity and outward optimism, to appreciate those around you. But most of all, to face what life throws at you honestly and to never, ever feel sorry for yourself.
Eulogies
