TRAVERSE CITY, MI -- Beverly Ann (Reid) McCann passed away gently on Dec. 28, 2016, with her family gathered round and singing her favorite songs. She was born to Angeline Catherine (Barnes) Reid and Stanley Edwin Reid in Manistique, MI on May 9, 1933.
In 1942, her family moved to Royal Oak, MI, where Beverly graduated from Dondero High School before heading to Ann Arbor, MI, where she studied art and zoology at the University of Michigan. She married Hugh Wray McCann in 1956. The couple returned to Royal Oak in 1962, where Beverly raised five children despite the limitation of having only one lung.
She was a painter, an activist and a humanitarian who was passionate about the civil rights movement before it had a name. She was a devoted member of St. Dennis Catholic Church. Through the parish and on her own, she volunteered countless hours assisting neighbors, advocating for the vulnerable and helping refugees from Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union resettle in the community.
Upon Hugh's retirement in 1997, Beverly realized her lifelong dream of building a log home on the periphery of the Interlochen Center for the Arts campus. This brought her close to two things she dearly loved: nature and music. She often zoomed about campus in her golf cart, appreciating the sounds of birds' songs just as much as the music coming from practice halls and concert stages. She continued to reach out in Interlochen, often to students attending the academy. Her home was always open, especially during school breaks, for students unable to return home to visit their families. She corresponded with their mothers, forming lasting international and intergenerational friendships.
Beverly's life was inseparable from nature, the arts and education. She was insatiably curious, which made her an avid scholar in all disciplines. Throughout her adult life, she investigated everything and anything, printing multiple copies of her research for her children and others. She enjoyed sharing what she had learned with anyone willing to take one of her many handouts.
Beverly's quest for information led to what eventually became her singularly most appreciated possession: her laptop computer. It gave her the freedom to conduct research from home at any hour of the day or night, and the convenience of sharing information through links and emails instead of printing her famous handouts. Equally important, via e-mail and Skype, the laptop enabled her to communicate easily and frequently with her beloved family and friends.
Beverly also wished to share her love for the versatility of French toast. She believed it to be the perfect travel snack, whether during a visit to a Detroit-area museum or the long car ride to camp in the Upper Peninsula. French toast would appear from either her purse or a cooler, to her children's cries of "Oh, no! Not French toast!"
Beverly was well practiced in silliness and began to use French toast as a prop for practical jokes. Once she tucked a bag of it deep inside her daughter Maureen's large suitcase as she packed to move to London, England. Several days after arrival, Maureen unpacked the bag to find "Oh, no! Not French toast!" and called home to report the incident. Beverly laughed until the tears came. She was successful in passing on to her curiosity and love of nature, music and art to her children -- but not her belief in the perfection of French toast for travel.
Her compassion extended from her resident squirrels to the children of Syria. She had a special affection for brave seekers and servers, including St. Francis of Assisi, Hans Kung, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Barbara Jordan, Bill Moyers and Dr. Martin Luther King. She was a person of deep faith with the ability to find it across the divisions of religion and culture. She steadfastly believed in the power of prayer as a way to heal the soul and bring it to wholeness. And she believed that the greatest act of rebellion in a world of hate is love.
Beverly is predeceased by her parents; her husband Hugh; her daughter Maureen Frances McCann; her brother Royal Roger "Jack" Reid and nephew Robin Douglas Reid.
She is survived by her daughters Karey McCann-Goode (Alan) and Eileen Ganter (Carl); her sons Damien McCann (Isabel) and Christopher Wray McCann; from Karey grandchildren Anne Raona, Colleen Raona Sernick (Dennis); and Brandon (Emily) Raona. Also granddaughters Kira Ganter and Eva McCann and grandson Ian McCann; great granddaughters Lucia and Corina Sernick; and great grandson Braxton Raona, who Brandon and Emily expect this first week of January. Also nephews John Steven Reid and Robert Reid Jr.; nieces Shauna (Reid) Prudhomme, Laura (Reid) Cameron and Sue Ann (Reid) Faiver; and many grandnieces and grandnephews.
Donations in Beverly's memory can be made to Doctors Without Borders ( www.doctorswithoutborders.org , 888.392.0392, donations@newyorkmsf.org ); GHESKIO/Center for Global Health - Haitian Group for the Study of Kaposi's Sarcoma and Opportunistic Infections ( www.gheskio.org , 646.962.8140, globalhealthweb@med.cornell.edu ) or Partners in Health ( www.pih.org , 857.880.5600, development@pih.org ).
For more information visit www.reynolds-jonkhoff.com Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, 305 Sixth Street, Traverse City, MI 49684; 231.947.6347. The family will hold a private memorial at a later date.