Cover photo for Beverly Leonard's Obituary

Beverly Leonard

July 24, 1946 — December 16, 2019

Beverly Leonard

On July 24 1946 a free spirit was born into the world in the old hospital in Brady, Texas. Daughter to Bobby Lynn Page and Margaret Nell (Patton) Page, Beverly Page was a bright spot in the young lives of her parents in the baby boomer years. Beverly was an only child who made the most of every day. She loved to visit her postmistress grandmother in Doole or to help out at the hotel that her other grandparents owned. She had fond memories of their "little brown house," her dog Fella, and the playhouse her dad built for her. Later, they moved to Lake Jackson, Texas, when her parents became employees of Dow Chemical, at which they remained for the duration of their careers. In their small duplex, Beverly considered the little bed made by two chairs pushed together a berth fit for a princess, and she spent many days on their front porch sewing clothes for her dolls and playing hopscotch and many evenings skipping down their court while playing her invented game, "Ain't No Boogers Out Tonight." She enjoyed family trips to the beach or camping, making clubs with friends (and watching friends fight with their siblings), Saturday serials at the theatre, and her favorite tv show, "The Mickey Mouse Club," during which she dreamed of being the next Annette Funicello. When not pursuing her future acting career, she spent hours envisioning in her strong imagination that she was in a circus act on the acrobatic bar which her beloved dad made for her. Lake Jackson also brought Friday night dances, and her first boyfriend, Danny.

When Beverly was in high school, the Page household was transferred to the Dow Rocky Flats plant in Boulder, Colorado, where Beverly had the time of her life as cheerleader and Track Queen, while dating her biggest crush, Louis.

After high school, Beverly attended University of Colorado where she graduated with a Bachelors in Education. She took at break from CU in the middle of her college years to attend UT in Austin, where she met her future husband, John Francis Leonard on a blind date. They were married in July of 1968. Beverly taught in Alcaqua, Virginia, and Richmond Rosenburg district in Houston, until she gave birth to their first child, Amy Nell Leonard, in 1973. Her second child, a son, was born in October 1975, and he was named Nathaniel Page Leonard. Beverly was a devoted mother, and her children were her pride and joy. She sought to provide for a well-rounded education and to expose them to many opportunities and life experiences.

Toward the end of college, Beverly listened to the promptings of he Holy Spirit and became Roman Catholic after not practicing much of a faith. She and John became very active in Marriage Encounter. She was always a spiritual person and a truth seeker.
Later, Beverly and John moved to Bryan-College Station to raise their family. Beverly sang in the folk choir at St Mary's Catholic Church and was the Director of Religious Education for a time. Beverly celebrated the church year well and her children have many fond memories of traditions which she followed to make their home festive, warm, and special.

In addition to pouring herself out into motherhood, Beverly was a 5th and 6th grade language arts teacher in Richmond-Rosenburg and CSISD.. Many of her students to this day will tell her family that they loved her. She was relatable to them. She attended Texas A&M University where she received a Master's Degree in Educational Technology in 1981, her crowning achievement.

In 1985 she and John divorced. Things were difficult, but Beverly pursued her passions and enjoyed life to the fullest despite her challenges as a single working mother. Beverly was strong, resilient and authentic. Her authenticity was met with affection when she later attended AA. Beverly was non-judgmental and warm, with an open ear for another person's struggles. Always a bit of a rebel as an adult, Beverly became passionate about motorcycles and rallies, especially after she retired from teaching. In 2009 she bought a Harley, and that bike began an 11 year journey for her and her family when she had an accident and acquired a traumatic brain injury. Beverly was a fighter and she maintained a positive outlook, while still recognizing her limitations and adjusting her expectations. She showed grit, perseverance, and humility as she accepted her new state in life. Beverly's priorities shifted to a much simpler way of being, and she was content just to curl up in bed with her grandkids to watch a movie or tv. Nothing was more treasured to her or brought her more joy than her family who walked beside her throughout the remainder of her life. Although her limitations were many, Beverly always considered herself a grandmother, and her granddaughter pointed that, despite her many limitations, she would have someone take her to the store to purchase little gifts to give them and always relished in her time with them. She had art therapy sessions and attended the CS Senior Center. Even after her TBI, she retained her feisty, stubborn, opinionated personality, and she kept her desire to be around people and her fantastic sense of humor!

For three years Beverly lived with her devoted caretaker, Melissa, and Melissa and her husband, Mike, became like family. Melissa afforded Amy and Nathan to have the time they needed to tend to raise their children, and she continued to take care of Beverly, even after Bev was moved to Accel Nursing Home after a bout of aspiration pneumonia in 2018. Beverly's family is eternally grateful to God for bringing Melissa into their lives and for the support of other family and friends as they met the challenges that caring for a loved one with TBI can bring.
Beverly loved Mexican food, especially cheese enchiladas! She enjoyed sitting on her back deck drinking black coffee, time with friends and neighbors, motorcycles, attending rallies, blues music, getting sweaty while doing landscaping, coffee in bed, reading, art and drawing (Beverly was an accomplished sketcher), anything English garden/cottage, tea parties, dancing, camping, and especially her beloved pets, Tex and Momo. She enjoyed quality time with family or friends most of all, and we know that she must have been so happy, relieved, and peaceful to be home in her last 5 days with her children and grandchildren bringing life to her quiet house. She died peacefully at sunrise with her son and daughter at her bedside, and her caretaker at her feet after helping her all night. She will be missed so deeply, but her family is also grateful that she will be restored and whole again and no longer suffer the great difficulties which her TBI set off.

Beverly loved to remind her kids and "Make a list! Write it down!" She was always an organized person who loved to decorate and "piddle" in her house (as she put it). She was one of the most interesting, funny, passionate, intelligent, extraverted people that many people had ever known, and anyone who remembers her tells her children that she was "real" and had a great spirit.

She is survived by her mother, Margaret Nell Page Nee Patton, aged 93; her daughter, Amy Nell Luttrell Nee Leonard, married to Thomas, of Austin TX; her son, Nathaniel Page Leonard, of Cypress, TX, married to Patty; her grandchildren, Braeden, Sophie, Haley, Lucy, and Sam, numerous cousins and 2nd cousins, as well as her devoted BFF and caretaker, Melissa Parker. She was preceded in death by her father, Bobby Lynn Page, her grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Beverly is a descendent of the Gates family which was among the 300 first families to settle in Texas under Stephen F Austin's leadership. Her grandfather was a Texas Ranger. Beverly was a true Texan and lived life to the fullest. Heaven will be better with her there and we look forward to seeing her again one day.

To celebrate the wonderful life of Beverly Leonard, the family will greet visitors from 5:30-8:30 pm on Thursday, December 19, 2019 at Hillier Funeral Home of COLLEGE STATION. A vigil service and Chaplet of Divine Mercy will begin at 7 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 AM on Friday, December 20, 2019 at St. Mary's Catholic Center. Burial will take place at Noon on Saturday, December 21, 2019 at Rest Haven Cemetery in Brady, Texas.

Please visit Beverly's tribute page at www.hillierfuneralhome.com to share memories and stories.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Beverly Leonard, please visit our flower store.

Past Services

Visitation

Thursday, December 19, 2019

5:30 - 8:30 pm

Hillier Funeral Home of College Station

4080 Texas 6 Frontage Rd, College Station, TX 77845

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Vigil Service and Rosary

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Starts at 7:00 pm

Hillier Funeral Home of College Station

4080 Texas 6 Frontage Rd, College Station, TX 77845

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Mass of Christian Burial

Friday, December 20, 2019

Starts at 10:00 am

St. Mary’s Catholic Center

603 Church Ave, College Station, TX 77840

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Graveside

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Starts at 12:00 pm

Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text. Standard text messaging rates apply.

Guestbook

Visits: 75

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the
Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors

Send Flowers

Send Flowers

Plant A Tree

Plant A Tree