Beverly Ray

Beverly Shaver Ray
May 15, 1931 - October 12, 2018
Beverly Shaver Ray passed away October 12th 2018 in Grand Junction CO, where she had moved to be close to her daughter. She was 87. She was a proud North Denver native born to Paul E. Shaver and Vivian Lenhart Shaver. She spent her childhood in Denver attending Colombian Elementary, Skinner Jr. High, graduating from North High School in 1949.
High School friends were life long, much loved and "Club" was born from these friendships. They would last through raising families and into retirements.
She married Roy Ray on June 11th, 1950 in Denver and moved to Barstow, California in 1952 when Roy was drafted during the Korean War. Daughter Genise was born while there, and Beverly told anyone who would listen about the hot Mojave Desert and the trials of having a baby in a Marine Corps infirmary. In 1954 the small family returned to Denver and moved to the new suburbs of Westminster. They later had two more children, Bruce and Brett.
Beverly was a home maker in the early years and started selling Avon products when it was still a door to door endeavor. She later started a sales career with BMA life insurance company in 1976. She drove many miles across Colorado and South Dakota, focusing her sales mainly to dairy farmers. At age 47, with no experience and only a high school education, she became one of the few female sales agents in the industry at the time. She excelled in this field, many times was named agent of the month or top producer nation wide. She reluctantly retired at 80 after 33 years.
Beverly never met a stranger and liked being busy. She was a doting mother, loved her home clean, her children clean, and there was never an unmade bed or a dirty dish in the sink. Her family will always remember how she made every Christmas the most truly magical holiday.
She was a survivor, burying both of her sons in their mid 40ʼs while battling cancer each time. She dearly loved her children and grand children. She had an incredibly strong, independent, hard working, caring, and resilient character that was admired by everyone who knew her.
She was passionate about her work, her yard and her house, and always was impeccably dressed. She loved yard sales, shopping, genealogy, class reunions, and her church.
Beverly will be dearly missed by her daughter, Genise (Rod) Carbone; and five grand children, Brian and Marc Carbone, Stephanie (Nahshon) Roth, Daniel (Veronica) Ray and Allison (Damian) Thompson; and daughter in-law Karen Ray. Also survived by six great grand children. She was also known as "Gramma Berry", "Tantie", and "Aunt Bev".
The family also wishes to thank the staff at Safe Haven in Grand Junction who so lovingly cared for her in her last years.
Memorial Services will be at 1:00 pm Thursday, October 18th, 2018 at Advent Lutheran Church with viewing at 12:15 pm. Burial will follow at Crown Hill at 3:30 pm.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Hope West Hospice,
Alzheimer's association or Advent Lutheran Church.