Beverley Ann McCallum was born 1 Jul 1943 at Stettler, Alberta, Canada daughter of Berwin Leslie McCallum and Inez Marion Buchanan, my aunt and uncle. Bev died 30 Oct 2008 at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I knew her quite well as we were growing up. One summer she and her friend Gail spent the summer with our family in Edgewater, BC.

Here are my notes from her memorial at Eastwood Community Hall on Monday 10 November 2008.

Roger Aeichele, her son-in-law conducted the service.

Prayer by Rita (Roger's sister)

Roger spoke of Bev's family: Son Ken and Ken's daughter Scarlett, daughter Kim and her husband Roger and their children, son Dan and his wife Dawna.Bev enjoyed puzzles, especially crossword puzzles; she loved to read, especially the King James version of the Bible; she loved music, and the company of her cat Sugar. Her greatest pride was for her children. She also had many foster children. Bev served as a crisis line counselor. And she was fun! She was the sparkling fireworks in our family.

Letter from Kim: You were a great story teller. You loved animals and people. You laughed easily and contagiously. You were always my #1 supporter. You were excited, spontaneous, and fun! You danced jigs when you were excited. You were smart, with a good knowledge of history and the Bible. You were creative: you painted, wrote poems, did cross-stitch, and did scrap-booking for Scarlett. You raised three kids during tough times. How pretty I thought you were inside and out! You loved Sylvan Lake. I miss you, but I am thankful your pain is gone. I love you.

Song: We'll Survive

Roger: reading from John chapter 14

Dan: Her laugh was contagious. She could find the good in a bad situation. Very simple things gave her so much pleasure! She was strong and gentle. She had tremendous faith in God. She was the pillar of our lives. I felt that with her support there was nothing I couldn't do.

Song: I Come to the Garden Alone

Roger: reading from 1 Thess chapter 4

Roger: I had the best mother-in-law any man could have. We first met in Prince George, BC. I liked her easy laughter and love of fun and her love of family. She was one of the most compassionate people I have ever known. I am grateful for the fun person she was. She didn't make anyone feel awkward. It was a delight to see her special realationship with my wife. She was not only "Mom", she was a friend.

Song: The Lord is My Shepherd (Psalm 23)

Roger: She was well loved. We are grateful she is free from the pain and that she is now with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Victoria (a friend - I think I heard the name correctly) Bev played darts with you. She was honest and giving. We will see her again. I enjoyed her laughter and caring and sharing.

Roger: readings from Psalm 23, Rev. 21, 1, 4

Prayer: Now I lay me down to sleep ...

Bev and Skipper

About 9 pm Thursday 30 October, I received a phone call from Kim Aeichele, telling me that her mother had passed way during the night of Oct 29-30. The funeral has not been planned yet, but the body will probably be cremated and the ashes scattered over Sylvan Lake.

My Cousin Bev

Beverley Ann McCallum was about a year younger than me, and my only sister is 10 years younger than me, so as a child I thought of Bev almost as a sister. Her parents would bring her to Breton when they would visit us and our uncle Jack Buchanan who lived on an adjacent farm. She and her spaniel dog, Skipper would be our playmates until it was time for them to return to Sylvan Lake. On the farm we had chickens, ducks and rabbits, as well as our own cats and dog, and Bev and Skipper fit in well with the rest of us. One summer she stayed with Jack and Tina for several days. Occasionally my parents would take us to Sylvan Lake to visit the McCallums. I remember going to fetch water from the village pump, and walks along the lake shore together. Then in 1954, my parents moved to Edgewater, BC, where Dad had a job working on the planer at the sawmill mill. In the summer of 1956, my parents arranged that my friend Reg Larson and Bev and her friend Gail Blair would stay with us for the summer. I don’t know what they were thinking! They had 5 children of their own and now they were adding a 14-year old boy and two 13-year old girls to the mixture. But it worked out really well. Some things we did as a large family, other activities involved the four of us, often my brother Reg (who was 12) was included and my brother Lloyd (who was 11). Edgewater was a wonderful place to explore. Picture a small town in the mountains, with the Columbia river flowing by, just out of sight, separated from the town by the railroad tracks and a quarter-mile or so of fir trees. Sometimes we would hike up to Baptiste Lake and spend the day there. There was a rowboat tied to the shore that was available for the use of anyone. We would row out into the lake and soak up some sunshine, and look down into the clear water and count the fish. I remember us going swimming fully clothed. We came out of the water looking like a pack of drowned rats! But our clothes would dry in the warm sunshine before we had walked back to town. Our house had two upstairs windows that overlooked the street. One window was in the room where us boys slept and the other was in the room occupied by Bev and Gail. I remember Bev and I sitting in the windows of respective bedrooms (after we were supposed to be asleep, of course) having long talks on profound subjects we knew very little about. Meanwhile Reg Larson and Gail joined in, occasionally swapping places with us on the window sills. It was kind of a magical time. It was a time of innocence, as we were poised on the brink of the adulthood that would take us in different directions. In the early 1960s my brother Lloyd and I lived in Calgary and we visited Bev and Gail, who were also living in Calgary. Then I was living in France and Switzerland, returned to Calgary, got married, and moved away and we lost touch for a while. In 1974, Uncle Jack died, and we were all together for his funeral. This renewed the old ties. Then Uncle Ber passed away in the spring of 1975 and Dad in the fall of 1975. At times like these we appreciate our family ties. Occasionally I would visit Bev or talk to her on the phone. Once she phoned to say that her brother Lloyd had passed away. Another time she called to say that her brother Jim had died. Last night it was Kim who called to tell me that Bev was gone. She was my cousin and my friend. She will be missed. I really appreciated the phone call from Kim. I know it must be hard to phone everyone and give them such sad news. For each of us, there is no one like our mother.

I have found a new webhost for my website. Several weeks ago clawz.com apparently died. My new web host is http://byethost.com/ and my new web address is http://billbuchanan.co.cc/ or http://www.billbuchanan.co.cc/ Click below to enlarge.

This new site is free from banner advertizements and seems to be rather generous with regard to file size, total space, and bandwidth. I hope this doesn't change. I guess I will have to wait and see.