Michael J. Beverly
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of our beloved father and husband, Michael Jay Beverly (86), on December 26, 2024. Mike (“Mickey” to his wife and close family) was born in Coalwood, West Virginia on July 24, 1938, the eldest child of Joseph Joffre Beverly and Ruth Wilma Beverly (nee Hawks). After Coalwood, Mike spent his childhood in the Beverly compound in Honeycamp, Virginia and the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio, finally landing in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. There, as a wiry and precocious 16-year-old, he met an athletic, pretty 14-year-old named Mary Catherine Pritchett at Sylvania Heights Baptist Church. From that moment, Mike’s life changed forever. Mike and Mary married on May 9, 1957, a love story that lasted 67 years. After honorable service in the U.S. Navy, Mike took an engineering job with IBM, which included maintaining the System/360 mainframe computers that revolutionized the industry. After nearly a decade in Richmond, Virginia, Mike and Mary relocated to Waynesboro, Virginia in 1969, with Mike moving into a sales role with IBM. In spite of a demanding career and prolific work ethic, Mike always had time for Mary, his four children, and his church. On any given day he could be found playing basketball with the Vesper View kids, visiting sick friends in the hospital, fixing a car, or conducting a wedding or funeral as a lay minister. Mike trusted the Lord with all his heart, and he lived his faith, treating everyone with dignity and respect. He had a way of making everyone with whom he came into contact feel cared for and important. If not the inventor of “Dad jokes,” Mike was an accomplished practitioner, and he maintained his sense of humor to the end. Even as we rejoice his entry into Heaven, Mike Beverly’s family and friends will miss him deeply.
Survivors include his beloved wife Mary, his children Teresa Ellen Lusk (Bryan Lusk), Michael Dale Beverly, Esq. (Sandy Beverly), Pamela Kay Klein, and Catherine Jo Jones, Ed.D (Doug Jones), his grandchildren Kristen Marie Klein, Ph.D. (Joe Crensha), Holly Michelle Lusk, Esq., Christopher David Klein (Emma Klein), Catherine Elizabeth Simmons (Terry Simmons), Robert Michael Beverly (Tegan Beverly), Scotti Suzanne Mullen, and Mary Alexandra Beverly, his sister Renee Beverly Tuebner (Ken Tuebner), and his sister-in-law Mickie Lou Beverly. Mike was predeceased by his brothers Malcolm Jon Beverly and Robin Gayle Beverly.
A celebration of Mike’s life will be held at 10 am on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025 at Edward Avenue Baptist Church (222 Edward Ave., Waynesboro), followed by a graveside service at Augusta Memorial Park (1775 Old Goose Creek Rd., Waynesboro). After the services, the family invites celebrants to join them for fellowship and food at Edward Avenue Baptist Church. The family will receive guests from 5 to 7 pm on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025 at McDow Funeral Home (1701 W. Main St., Waynesboro).
