Beverly Kim Wilson

Beverly Kim (Williams) Wilson 1954 - 2022

As a registered nurse and licensed grief counsellor, Beverly K. Wilson worked to bring comfort to families who suffered the loss of a child. The effort doesn't stop with her death. Even after being diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), which finally took her life at age 67 on February 11, 2022, she was able to establish the "Treasures in Heaven" Children's Memorial in Somerset, Michigan.

"Treasures in Heaven," which was dedicated on Mother's Day 2021, provides free burial plots to bereaved families in the Somerset Cemetery behind the Somerset Congregational Church, where Beverly was a long-time member. Space is also available for engraving names of babies lost in early pregnancy.

At the center of the memorial is an Anthony Frudakis life sized bronze
sculpture of a mother reading to a young child. As a maternity nurse and grief therapist, Beverly considered herself privileged to be witness to the sacred mystery at both ends of life – when a soul enters a room at birth or a soul departs at death.

"I am a nurse. I am a maternity nurse. I work with moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, brothers and sisters, and brand-new babies," Bev, the mother of two sons, wrote in an essay she titled Heaven's Playground.

"And sometimes, I work with babies who die. I gently bathe them, dress them, warm them, and prepare them to be seen and held by their grief-stricken parents. I never wanted to do this kind of work — I just couldn't. I love babies, children, and families.

But some babies die. I soon realized I had to do this work. Families were having their hearts ripped out. Their babies had died. They wanted answers. What happened to their babies? Why couldn't anyone understand the need to talk about their babies? Why does it hurt so bad? How long does grief last?"

While those questions may never be answered, Bev's mission was to bring comfort and counseling to the bereaved. She launched a Perinatal Bereavement Program at the hospital where she worked, staged public memorial services for families who had lost children, and in one of her final acts, established the "Treasures in Heaven" Children's Memorial.
She was passionate about providing services to families whose infants died before term.

"They're not only losing the baby, they are losing all the hopes and dreams and plans for that child. But society does not let those mothers grieve," she said in an interview with The Detroit News in 2000.

Beverly was born June 11, 1954, in Pensacola, Florida, and called herself "a Southern lady with an Alaskan soul."

As a youngster, she wanted to be a missionary to Africa and later heard the call that her life's purpose was "to ease the suffering of others."

She studied liberal arts at Agnes Scott College, graduated with her nursing degree from the University of South Alabama, and received her Master's degree in Counseling from Spring Arbor College.

In Michigan, she worked at a community hospital, taught counseling at a local college, opened her own Grief Matters, LLC counseling practice, and was pursuing her Ph.D.

Her sweet sounding voice graced the air waves as a reader for Georgia Radio Reading Service for the Blind. She later became the voice of "Samantha" for the Good Sam Camping Club's National Messaging Service.

To provide the stamina needed for companioning grief stricken families, Bev embraced the fun side of her personality. While many girls think of themselves as a princess, Bev went even further, keeping a tiara in the glove box of her car because, "You never know when you will have to be a princess."

Known for her skills in the kitchen, Bev will be remembered for her carrot cakes, angel food cakes, pecan pies, and Bingo & Fondue Christmas parties for family children. She once baked molasses cookies for Gen. Colin Powell and suggested he run for president.

Often described as "adventuresome", it was in Alaska where she found her soul and tried dog sledding. Beverly was open to adventure, whether she was camping, participating in a medical exchange taking supplies to Moscow, helping scientists study elephants in Kenya or polar bears in northern Canada, performing a part on stage in Eve Ensler's "Vagina Monologues," or joining a group studying the Grand River by kayaking from its headwaters to the place where it empties into Lake Michigan.

Beverly's next adventure has begun by delivering hugs to our precious treasures playing on Heaven's Playground.

Beverly was preceded in death by her father, Sam K.E. Williams, Sr., who died when Bev was 14 years old.

Left to reminisce and comfort each other are her two greatest loves – sons, Jonathan Thorp Wilson (Amy Scott) and Patrick Michael Wilson. She is also survived by her mother, Mary Anne Williams; goddaughter, Frances Diane Smith; siblings: Amanda Bennett (Jim); Melissa Valentina, Sam K. E. Williams, Jr. (Cindy); her priceless "Old Smoothie" and caregiver extraordinaire, Randy Coller; and a plethora of fun-loving cousins and friends.

Per her request, Beverly's brain has been donated to Multiple System Atrophy research at Mayo Clinic. Cremation will follow.

A glorious Celebration of Life was held June 2, 2019, so Beverly could attend and enjoy. A Remembrance Service will be held at Somerset
Congregational Church, 10449 Somerset Rd., Somerset, Michigan, 49281, on Saturday, March 12, 11:00 a.m. The service will be live streamed on the Somerset Congregational Church Facebook page.

Beverly expressed deep gratitude to Promedica Hospice (Ann Arbor/Mason) for their care, compassion, and sensitivity, enabling Beverly to experience the final season of life in the comfort and beauty of her home.

Contributions honoring Beverly's life can be made to: "Treasures in Heaven" Children's Memorial c/o Somerset Congregational Church, Somerset Michigan: http://www.somersetchurch.com/giving/ and "Beverly Kim Williams '76 Bereaved Student Support Fund" at Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.

Desnoyer Funeral Home
Family Owned for 132 Years