Ellen Beverly Mccafferty

Beverly McCafferty, whose kind spirit shone within her until her final days, died in Great Falls on October 26th.She was 96. Beverly was born in Brilliant, Ohio, to James Robert Bailie and Inez McIntire. The older sister to two brothers, Bob and George, she grew up in the Depression, but was happy as long as she had books. She loved school, though the boys could be ornery. One neighbor boy retrieved a hat that a passel of miscreants stole from her. She married that boy, Keith McCafferty, in 1946, after he returned from serving in Europe during World War II. The first of Beverly's sons, Keith, was born in 1953, followed by Kevin in 1955. They lived in a one bedroom house, the boys sharing the bedroom while the parents slept on a pull out bed. Neighbor children, dogs and cats came in and out of the doors. One girl who found a home away from home was Karen Entinger, who lived across the street and considered Beverly to be her mother. Keith worked as a railroad engineer while Beverly worked in the children’s room of the Steubenville Carnegie Library, where she passed on her love of books. On vacations, the family pitched a tent on the AuSable River in Michigan. While Keith fished, Beverly and the boys sat before a campfire, burning a railroad lantern as a beacon. These camping trips are among the best times the family remembers. Both young Keith and Kevin went on to become high school valedictorians. Kevin became a doctor of emergency medicine, while Keith became a magazine writer and novelist. Their success could not have come about without their mother's guidance. When her sons decided to move to Montana, Beverly and Keith settled in Bozeman, and embraced the role of grandparents to their four grandchildren. Keith's dream of living by a river was realized when he and Beverly built a house on the Missouri River near Craig in 1996. After her husband’s passing in 2005, Beverly remained the constant star around whom everyone revolved. She was able to enjoy many family gatherings on the river during holidays and vacations. Special times were when her nieces traveled out from Ohio and Karen, the girl she raised as a daughter, came to Montana with her husband, Bill. The little girl who loved books passed away peacefully in Great Falls with members of her family by her side. Beverly is survived by her sons, Keith McCafferty and his wife, Gail Schontzler, of Bozeman and Kevin McCafferty and his wife, Linda, of Great Falls; her grandsons, Thomas McCafferty and his wife, Jess Chen, and their son, Bailey McCafferty, of Seattle, Brent McCafferty and his partner, Leigh Ann Ruggiero, of Great Falls and Brandon McCafferty and his wife, Cortney Leverentz of Great Falls; and granddaughter Jessie McCafferty and her fiancé, Chad Cole, of Missoula. A family memorial service will be held at the river home that Beverly loved, and her ashes will join those of her husband to flow with the eternal current.