BEVERLY ANN CARTER

Services: 10 a.m. Thursday, May 26, Cantlon Otterness Funeral Home. Burial in Missouri State Veterans Cemetery, Springfield.

Bro. Bob Davidson will officiate. Online condolences can be made at cantlonotterness.com.

Escorts are her grandchildren.

Beverly Ann Carter, 82, was born Dec. 11, 1933, in Fremont, Neb., the daughter of Harold and Beulah (DePue) Heming. She died May 20, 2016, at her home in Buffalo.

At age 9 she was diagnosed with polio. The crippling experience became a stepping stone for a lifetime of strength and endurance.

She married and had six children before meeting her first “true love,” Herbert Carroll. They married in 1962 and spent 31 years devoted to each other.

In 1996, she married Harry L. Carter, her best friend. The two were inseparable companions and shared 13 years before his death in 2009.

She had a passion for the great outdoors, spending many family vacations traveling, exploring new sights, panning for gold in the old western towns, camping in Yellowstone, fishing for supper and cooking over an open fire. She seldom failed to notice the beauty in nature.

Her hands kept busy knitting, sewing, painting and growing vegetable gardens. Canning and preserving all that she could, she ensured her family had plenty of food.

As an active member of The Chief Corner Stone Church, she always served wherever needed. She loved the fellowship and referred to the congregation as her “Missouri Family.”

She wore many hats throughout her journey; her talent for cooking and social nature paired well as owner and operator of several family restaurants. Her pan-fried chicken and homemade pies were customer favorites.

If you knew her, you knew of her bond with Paco and Half Pint, her beloved Chihuahuas. They were “her boys.” They brought her years of happiness and remained by her side in her final hours.

Beverly was preceded in death by her parents; four husbands: Marvin Pendergraft, Edward Whetstone, Herbert Carroll and Harry Carter; her daughter, Maureen Pendergraft; one brother, Harold Heming, and sister, Cleo Ferguson.

Survivors include her six children: Jon and wife, Linda Pendergraft, Gail and husband, Tom Ormsby, Ida Mae Pendergraft, Colleen and husband, DeLyle Hauglie, Dorene “Charlie” and husband, David Crissinger, and Kevin Carroll; two brothers: Bob Heming and Buck Heming; 17 grandchildren; many great-grandchildren; and nieces, nephews, friends and family who will all truly miss her.