Beverly M. Drunasky

Beverly (Bev) Marcella Drunasky, age 82, passed peacefully on August 19, 2022. Thank you to the caring staff at St. Vincent Hospital, Green Bay, WI, who provided her the best possible care and comfort. Family and friends are welcome to celebrate Bev on Thursday, August 25 at St. Stephen Lutheran Church in Horicon, WI. Visitation begins at 10am, followed by an 11am service and luncheon. Burial services will be at Trinity Lutheran Cemetery in Reeseville, WI.

Bev is survived by her son Brendan (Dan) Drunasky, her daughter Kimberly (Kim) Allen and son-in-law Thomas (Tom) Allen, her granddaughters Anna Allen and Kate Allen, her sister-in-law Linda Kohls, and her nieces and their families Heather (Howard) Voight, Michelle Kopischke (John Pejskar), and Mellissa (Corey) Schelvan. Bev was preceded in death by her beloved husband Rodney (Rod) Drunasky, daughter Vicki Lynne Lanette Drunasky, parents Elmer and Marcella Kohls, sister Eleanor Westphal, brother Richard Kohls, sister Patricia Mary Ann Kohls, brother John Kohls, as well as her sisters-in-law Beatrice Wolfe Barth, Bernadine Knudson, Ruth Hulsebus, Mary Ellen Schwebs, and brother-in-law Robert Drunasky and their spouses.

Bev was born on June 24, 1940, in Watertown, WI. She had fond memories of growing up on a family farm near Reeseville, WI, called “the home place” and the time spent with her cousins whom she cherished throughout her life. She graduated from Waterloo High School in 1958 and her favorite activity was playing her flute in the marching band. She attended Columbia County Teacher College and obtained her Bachelor and Master’s Degree, with Phi Kappa Phi Society high honors, from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She spent most of her career as a special education teacher in the Hartford School District.

The end of August was Bev’s favorite time of the year because she loved going back to school. Bev taught summer school most years, and following her retirement in 2006, she continued to volunteer, full-time, at her granddaughters’ schools in West De Pere, where she received awards for her dedication to teaching. Bev was an active, life-long member of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society for women educators, where she had many teacher friends and loved attending all the events, especially traveling to Madison to read and judge books written by children.

Bev loved family get-togethers. She kept her extended family connected through years of planning family reunions and sharing her genealogy books and charts from the records she researched, pre-Internet, at various courthouses. She looked forward to the Milwaukee ethnic festivals where her and Rod would participate in the summer German and Irish fests and the winter Folk Fair. A highlight for Bev was receiving letters from her German cousins, whom she traveled with her cousin Sharleen to Germany to meet them in person. Bev kept in touch with her family and friends through the years and all the holidays with her love of finding and sending the perfect Hallmark greeting card. Her connectedness included her community where she volunteered and led organizations such as the Homemakers, Kiwanis, Lutheran Youth Groups, and Scouts. She highly valued the friendships with her neighbors, especially the many years in Rockford, IL and Horicon, WI.

Most know Bev for how she loved to watch and discuss the Milwaukee Brewers and the Green Bay Packers. Bev was a season-ticket, shareholder, loyal Packer fan with unwavering dedication through the good and bad. She was an avid stock car fan and in her earlier years she would attend the local tracks where Rod would race. Her competitive spirit also showed in her love for a game of euchre or cribbage, and she was always a gracious winner.

Bev positively impacted innumerable people throughout her life and those who knew her well or knew her briefly knew her as a sweet lady.

Bev’s greatest passion was her love for the Lord. She was a devout Christian, baptized, confirmed, and married to Rodney on December 11, 1965, as a member of the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. She served for many years teaching and leading Sunday Schools. Most recently she was a member of St. Mark Lutheran in De Pere, WI, where she found a caring community and her dear friend Connie Behrendt. Bev’s deep faith has brought her home.
As Bev would say, “Bye for now.”