Beverly June (McKern) Hatfield, b. September 25, 1933, d. August 8, 2023, was the youngest of four children born to William and Edith McKern and the longest lived.  She was born and educated (East High School) in Kansas City, MO.  Not long after graduating high school, she met David Hatfield on a blind date, and not long after that (before she was twenty), the two of them married and commenced—as she would put it years later—doing what life gave them to do.  For Bev, that initially meant home-making and bringing two boys into the world within 18 months of each other, and four years later, a baby girl.  Caring for two in diapers at the same time while her husband served at Ft. Leonard Wood and then worked the swing shift at Sheffield Steel, was ever after a bit of her biography Mom would use to silence her children when they began to whine about how difficult life was.  And she had stories, too, about her father and the tension in her childhood home to account for her dislike of raised voices and her defensiveness at perceived slights. 

Though she worked outside the home for a time—when her children were older she spent several years, for example, co-owning and then owing outright a secretarial service—she later confessed these years were her happiest—Mom’s life was primarily that of a dedicated and devoted wife and mother.  That is, she was good to move with her family three times while the children grew up in Independence, MO., each time relocating to the responsibility of more square feet, then to retire with Dad to the rustic  life they shared for several years at Henry’s Acres outside Lincoln, MO., then to move again to south Texas for several years to escape Midwest winters among other reasons, and then to move again back to Grain Valley for the last part of their lives.  In the course of her life while taking care of and humoring those who depended on her for nearly everything, she attended more little league ballgames and watched more televised games than she could remember, prepared more meals than she liked to remember, and had such zealous love for her children that she did not hesitate to advise them when they were messing up and reminding them how to get back on the better track.  Of course, the older we grew, the wiser Mom became.

Her last couple of years were spent charming the staff at Parkway Senior Living with her sassiness, salty wit, and genuine affection.  If you want to do something nice in her memory, spread the word about the good folks at St. Croix Hospice.  Beverly was preceded in death by her husband David.  She is survived by her children Mike, Steve, and Teri (Hatfield) Duckett, six grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren, none of whom can love their mothers more than Bev’s children loved and will miss her.