Beverly J. Martens
Beverly J. Martens, age 92, of Bellevue, died on November 24, 2019, at Calhoun County Medical Care Facility after a long illness.
Beverly was born on November 16, 1927, in Battle Creek to Harold R. and Gertrude (Watts) Burt. The family moved around while she was growing up, and she attended schools in the Battle Creek area. They settled in Bellevue, where she enrolled in school. She graduated from Bellevue High School in 1945.
Her father worked at the Ford Garage in Bellevue with a young man named Clarence Martens. On a visit to her father at the Ford garage she met him. She noted that Clarence was quite the jokester, and Beverly was taken with him. Clarence taught her to drive. They fell in love and were married on August 26, 1947, in a small church ceremony in Bellevue. The couple took a honeymoon trip to Tahquamenon Falls. They returned to make their home in Bellevue, where they first lived with her parents until they could afford their own home several years after marriage. Beverly and Clarence sold their first home and bought a farm on Ionia Road, where they raised their family. Beverly was a homemaker and worked at the Bellevue school library when her children were in school.
Beverly was a devoted member of the Bellevue United Methodist Church, where she had taught Sunday school. She belonged to the United Methodist Church Women’s Society. She volunteered with the Eaton County 4-H, including teaching seamstress skills. She loved to square dance and ballroom dance. Bingo, board and card games were always an enjoyable way for her to pass the time and have fun. She was a talented seamstress who made most of her children’s clothing. Her family remembers her as a great baker who created many wonderful treats for her family. Attending the mother-daughter banquet at the Bellevue United Methodist Church was always a special yearly event for her and her daughters. Towards the end of her life, she felt she had fulfilled her life’s goal of being a good mother and wife, which her family heartily agreed with.
Beverly and Clarence enjoyed wintering in Englewood, FL, for 20 years. They were always very active, enjoying socializing. They would organize cruises for groups of people and got to enjoy a lot of travel. Beverly always said that her husband taught her to enjoy life to its fullest, and they did that always.
Clarence preceded her in death on May 31, 2007.
Surviving are her children Jim (Eva) Martens of Bowling Green, Kentucky, Susie Butler of Nashville, and Cindy (Mike) Parkinson of Bellevue; 10 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren and 1 great-great-grandchild. She was also preceded in death by her parents, her brother Richard Burt and son-in-law Alvin Butler.
Beverly’s family wants to express their thanks and gratitude to Dr. Chung and the entire staff at the Calhoun County Medical Care Facility for their kindness, dedication and care of their beloved mother and grandmother.
Friends were invited to call at the Bellevue Chapel of Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services, 205 N. Elizabeth St. in Bellevue on Friday, November 29, from 5 to 7 p.m. Friends may again call beginning at 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 30, at the Bellevue United Methodist Church, 122 Capital in Bellevue, where the Celebration Of Life for her will begin at 11 a.m. Interment will follow in Riverside Cemetery in Bellevue.
The family suggests memorials in Beverly’s name be made to either the Bellevue Good Samaritans Food Pantry, PO Box 53, Bellevue MI 49021 or Calhoun County Medical Care Facility Activity Fund, 1150 E. Michigan Ave., Battle Creek MI 49014. Assistance is available at Kempf Family Funeral and Cremation Services. To leave the family a message, visit www.kempffuneralhome.com.