Beverley Sue County

Beverley Sue County passed away on February 24, 2024 after a long and painful illness in Wahoo, Nebraska.    She was born on October 6, 1942 in Stratton, Colorado to Kenneth and Lucille (Hooper) Scheierman.  Her sister Betsy Bea was born two years later.

When Bev was eight years old, her parents divorced and in 1952, Mabel Garner and Kenny Scheierman were married.  They moved from a house in Stratton to a place 15 miles south of Stratton.

Bev attended elementary and high school in Stratton and graduated with the class of 1960.

Bev was gifted from a young age with the ability to play the piano “by ear”.  It was Mabel (Mom) who thought she should be educated in reading music.  She found the music teacher, Minta Coleman, who lived in Burlington, to be her instructor.   It was Mom’s strict disciplines of practice and driving Bev to Burlington every week for lessons that facilitated Bev’s distinction as being Mrs. Coleman’s “star” pupil.  Mrs. Coleman insisted that Bev be honored with a solo piano recital replete with formal printed and mailed invitations.   The recital was held at the Burlington United Methodist Church when she was 16 years old.

She attended Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana for three years where she attended beauty school to hone her skills after practicing on her sister for years.

Bev’s birth mother, Lucille, married Jack Carpenter and lived in Sterling, Colorado.  They had three children together.  Sister, Jacque, and brothers, Bruce and Chris, became part of her family.  While visiting her extended family in Sterling, Lucille suggested she meet her paper boy, Jerry County, because he was so industrious.  Needless to say, a courtship ensued and the rest is history.

Bev and Jerry were married December 20, 1964 in Stratton, Colorado and they lived in Denver where Bev worked at a bank and later started using her education and became a beautician while Jerry attended the University of Colorado in Denver. To this union,  Geoffrey (Jeff) Dain, was born in 1967, and Jodean (Jodi) Daina completed the family in 1971.

In 1980, the County family moved to Burlington, Colorado when Jerry joined Noel Winfrey to form the CPA partnership, Winfrey and County.  Bev continued her beautician business in Burlington for several years, until her health wouldn’t allow her to work and was forced to retire.

Bev was a member of the Burlington United Methodist Church where she was the pianist and also volunteered as the Burlington Rotary Club pianist.

Because music was a major focus in her life, Bev was a 24-year subscriber to the Denver Center for Performing Arts and attended most of all the best Broadway musicals and theater productions.  These Saturday trips to Denver for lunch, theater, and dinner with good friends were memorable times for many years.

Bev was an avid advocate for planting trees, not only in her yard, but around the City of Burlington.   Her green thumb extended beyond trees and was gifted in the caring of indoor plants.  One plant in particular lived for over 30 years.

Bev was also instrumental in instigating the Neighborhood Watch sticker that homeowners placed in the windows of their homes.

Bev and Jerry were avid campers beginning with a tent.  Over the years, they upgraded to a Volkswagen bus, a pop-up, pickup camper, fifth wheel and finally an RV bus, which she referred to as the “Unit”.  They were members of the Burlington Good Sams camper group that traveled near and far in the summer months.  Bev and Jerry also loved traveling in their RV and visited many states.  They finally decided to become “snowbirds” and spent their winter months in Texas and Arizona, returning to Colorado in the spring.  They eventually bought a villa at Happy Trails in Surprise, AZ, and this quickly became their second home making new memories with wonderful friends.

Their travels outside of camping included Belize, Roatan, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Mexico, and numerous resort areas in the United States.

In 1988, Bev was diagnosed with a large benign brain tumor, which she referred to as her “orange”.   The tumor was removed and she completed the follow-up radiation treatment.  For the next several years, the radiation inflicted many obstacles physically.  She never complained and with her abiding faith, she bore her health conditions with humor, honor and grace.  Bev gradually developed motor skill issues that eventually resulted in nursing home care. In March of 2022, she moved to a beautiful facility, South Haven, in Wahoo, Nebraska.  Although she missed her home and friends in Burlington, she quickly made new friends and received wonderful care.  She loved watching the birds in the bird display.

She is survived by her son, Jeff (Jill) County of Ashland, NE and daughter, Jodean (Jodi), of Meeker, CO; her grandchildren Jenna (Michael) Satterly of Lincoln, NE; Jasmine (John) Mlakar of Meeker, CO;  Jade (Jake) Trahern of Burlington, CO; Justine Carrillo of Meeker, CO; and Jett County (Reannon) of Lincoln, NE; her great grandchildren, Jameson Mlakar, Jaxton Carrillo, Tatum Satterly, Kamryn Trahern, Lawson and Lowan Satterly and Baby Trahern arriving in April; her sisters, Betsy Schutte and Jacque (Tim) Whitsitt, brother, Bruce Carpenter, niece, Kenya (Scott) Huppert and nephew, Clay Short, and many other family and friends.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Jerry, her parents, Kenneth and Mabel Scheierman, her mother, Lucille Carpenter, her brother, Chris Carpenter, and her nephew, Lance Short.

Memorial contributions may be designated to the Burlington Senior Citizens Center, The Midway Theater or to your Church of Choice and may be left at the services or mailed to Koons-Russell Funeral Home, 211 N. Main Ave., Goodland, KS 67735.