Beverly Hooper

Beverly Hooper of Cottonwood passed away suddenly on September 12, 2013. She was 86 years old. Beverly was born on June 7, 1927 in Clinton, IA to Herman and Alta Gehlsen. At the age of 18, she set out for adventure in California, where she met the love of her life, Larry Hooper, pianist and bass singer on The Lawrence Welk Show. They married in 1952 and were happy together for 31 years until Larry passed away in 1983. Beverly moved to the Verde Valley to retire about 20 years ago and she truly loved the community of Cottonwood. Beverly was an active, quick-witted, high energy person for most of her life. During her later years she settled comfortably into being soft-spoken, retrospective and easy going. As a young woman, she liked to sew and knit, but as she got older, she enjoyed taking road trips and both bird and people watching! She never lost her sense of humor and was always quick to laugh. Her kids will miss so many things about their kind and loving mother who was always there for them. Beverly was preceded in death by her husband, Larry Hooper. She is survived by her daughters, Lori Hay of CA, Melinda Shepherd of Cottonwood, AZ and Lisa (Kevin) Neale of Portland, OR; Dick Gehlsen of Virginia, MN, Norma Carneal of Seattle, WA, two grandchildren, Kelly Mills and Jolene Childers and several great-grandchildren. Private family services have been held. An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com