Beverly, As We Knew Her

Beverly Patricia Bruer passed away unexpectedly at home on Saturday, December 6th, 2025. She was born September 17, 1954 to Ellen Patricia Bruer and Joe Bruer, and had three siblings: Rebecca, Kevin, and Tim. Beverly was a proud Oregonian with a love and respect for the old growth forests, beaches, and wildlife of the Pacific Northwest.

Bev’s chief concern was the rights, comfort, and dignity of all people. She was a progressive thinker who was guided by humanist ideals, a pacifist with no tolerance for violence, and a deeply empathetic person who supported women's equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and the immigrant community.

She possessed a sharp and inquisitive mind, and (despite a certain stubbornness) remained willing to have her opinion be changed after lengthy discourse. She believed in taking responsibility for one’s actions and finding common ground in solving disputes, and imparted the virtues of kindness, respect, and critical thought on her sons. She was a gentle and loving soul to the end and is greatly missed by her family and friends.

Raised in southwest Portland, Bev graduated from St. Mary’s Academy in 1972. She continued her education in San Francisco, graduating from USF in 1976 with a B.S. in Biology. She made lasting friendships in both places and was always excited to catch up over a phone call or dinner.

Bev started work in San Francisco’s Chinatown as an administrative assistant for a local bank; she quickly moved into the internal audit department, where she hand-counted millions of dollars in cash at various branches around the city. Seeking adventure in 1979, she took a leave of absence to work as a NOAA marine observer in the Bering sea aboard a Polish fishing vessel. For four months, she was the only American and the only woman aboard the 100 person vessel, and enjoyed drinking piwo and wodka as she fostered a relationship with the crew. Bev tracked bycatch and ensured the ship only harvested pollock, though she would be the first to admit the ship’s cook slipped the occasional halibut past her inspection and onto her plate.

In 1980, Bev returned to Portland and soon found herself as an early woman in tech, beginning a long and engaging career as a systems analyst with Tektronix. Her work took her across the globe, to Australia, France, Italy, The Netherlands, and beyond. She enjoyed traveling immensely, and her natural curiosity drove her to explore well beyond the corporate environs to which she was dispatched, often with her partner Tim or other friends at her side.

In September 1978, Bev had a date with Tim Leslie at the Hobbit Jazz club in Portland, beginning a relationship that would grow for the next 47 years. Bev accepted Tim’s marriage proposal in May 1982; they married on September 18th, 1982 and moved in together at 2716 NE 39th Ave (now Cesar Chavez Blvd). Always open to new experiences, she learned to swim, snorkel, and ski with Tim, and together they were avid runners, soccer players, and tennis players for many years.

Following their 1993 move to Beaverton, Bev and Tim joined the Spirit of Grace congregation (formerly Mission of the Atonement) in 1997. It was there that Beverly found an interfaith community of people who shared her values of social justice and acceptance. In her 28 years as a member, she helped shape the community, made many great friends, engaged with countless children, and continued to expand her mind on social issues and theology.

Bev held a particular love for children and had strong maternal instincts. After a 9 year battle with infertility, Bev and Tim pursued IVF treatment with the generous offer of surrogacy from Tim’s sister Kathleen. In 1995, their elder son Michael was born as the joyous conclusion to a long and difficult struggle — Bev and Tim are eternally grateful to Kathleen and her husband Bernd for their love, support, and sacrifice during those years.

Further fortune struck at the turn of the millennium as Bev found herself unexpectedly pregnant at the age of 45, a scenario which she had long dismissed as impossible. In 2000, her second son Matthew was born healthy to great fanfare and adoration (though his older brother took some convincing).

Beverly’s children and their friends dominated her attention, and she shifted her energies and efforts to motherhood. She was an ardent believer in the necessity of childhood education and academic success, and read novels aloud with her sons on most nights. As her sons entered elementary school, Bev took on stewardship of the St. Mary of the Valley Elementary School’s Art Lit program; she is fondly remembered for teaching her sons and their childhood friends hands-on art history ranging from Jackson Pollock, to Fabergé eggs, to Monet, to 14th-century iconography.

Beverly suffered a range of serious health problems from 2010 onward, including multiple sclerosis, a physically debilitating stroke, seizures, and a cardiac arrest. Yet her spirit, kindness, humor, and appreciation for life remained indomitable as challenges mounted, thanks in large part to the loving communities of people and the family she chose to nurture over decades.

Bev remained an avid reader and participant in her 25-year-long book group, a cornerstone member of Spirit of Grace, and a loving mother. She continued to travel to California to visit her boys and embarked on two grand voyages with Tim to retrace her steps in Western Europe and Australia. Bev was also ecstatic to welcome her nephew Calvin to the family in 2024. She found immense joy in playing with him shortly before her passing.

Beverly is survived by her loving husband Tim and her sons Michael and Matthew. She also leaves behind Scout and Mr. Bingley, whose feline antics provided immeasurable good cheer and comfort in the final years of Beverly’s life.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation in Bev’s name be made to the Oregon Food Bank or Meals on Wheels Portland.

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