Beverly Ahlstrom

Beverly Ahlstrom went to be with the Lord on Nov. 8th, 2014. A celebration of her life will be held Saturday, Nov. 15th at 10:00 AM at Village Presbyterian Church, 6641 Mission Rd., Prairie Village, KS 66208. A reception will follow the service. Beverly was born June 21, 1923 in Kansas City, MO to Esther and James Parsons Sr. Her family moved from Kansas City to Bloomington, IL, where she graduated from high school. She attended Purdue, then enthusiastically joined the Waves in 1943 for a 2 ½ year stint as a Link Trainer, based in Pensacola, FL. Her job was to train Navy pilots to fly with instrumentation and land on air craft carriers. She returned to college and graduated from Cornell with a degree in clothing and textiles. In June 1949 she married Hugh Spencer Jr. They had two daughters, Diane and Lauren. She returned to K.C. and worked for many years as an insurance claims adjuster. She was a hard working single mother. She married Winton Ahlstrom, the love of her life, in Dec. 1974. After her retirement, she and Win enjoyed traveling to Europe, especially Italy. They were also regulars at the Missouri Rep due to their love of theater. She was active in book club, the League of Women Voters, Senior Leadership Council and Village Presbyterian Church. She also enjoyed rooting for her favorite teams such as the Royals, Chiefs and K-State. Beverly was a loving wife, mother and grandmother. She adored spending time with her friends, nieces and her family at the farm in Utica, IL. She was a kind, gentle, gracious and classy woman whose faith and inner strength shown through all her life. She will be deeply missed by her family and friends. Beverly was preceded in death by her parents; brother, James Parsons Jr. and sister-in-law, Virginia Parsons. She is survived by her husband, Winton; stepson, Rick Ahlstrom; children, Lauren (Tom) Mitchelson and Diane (Ira) Miller; grandsons, Mark and Eric Miller and 5 nieces. The family would like to thank the Overland Park Nursing and Rehab Center staff and Crossroads Hospice for their tender care of Beverly. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Village Presbyterian Church.

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