With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Beverly Sue Tozer, 72, on April 22, 2022. She died peacefully at the Mayo Hospital with her husband and three children by her side after a month-long fight against an acute progression of pulmonary fibrosis. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and aunt, an accomplished physician, and a truly special friend to many. Her warm smile and infectious personality touched the lives of everyone she met.

Beverly was born in Salem, IL on December 11th, 1949 to Lovell and Haney Stonecipher and was the second of six children. She graduated valedictorian from Salem High School in 1968 and became the first member of her family to go to college when she enrolled at Southern Illinois University and graduated Summa Cum Laude. She went on to study medicine, as a single parent, at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. It was there that she met Randall Tozer, over a cadaver in anatomy class - a story that they have lovingly told their kids many times over. She married Randall on May 27th, 1978 and graduated in the top of the medical school class a week later. After finishing their medical training in Rhode Island and Michigan, they moved to Scottsdale in 1984 and eventually to their home in Paradise Valley, where they have lived for the past 31 years.

Beverly practiced internal medicine for forty years, taking four years off in the middle to get overly involved in the daily activities of her kids’ lives before they begged her to go back to work. She was most recently the chair of the Women’s Health Department at Mayo Clinic, from where she retired in 2012, although she did continue to work part-time in executive medicine until 2015. She also earned the rank of Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Medical School and continued to teach up until just a few months ago. She was an exceptional and compassionate doctor who dedicated much of her life to ensuring her patients received the best personalized care, and was nominated as a Top Doc by Phoenix Magazine during her career. However, her true passion was spending time with her family. She was the mastermind behind all of the family gatherings, which created many fond memories and family traditions. She absolutely adored all eight of her grandchildren and she spoiled them at every opportunity she had. Whether they called her Mimi, Meemaw, or Grandma, her grandchildren could do no wrong in her eyes. There is a plaque in her family room that says “I can at Mimi’s house” which for the most part was always true when it came to her grandchildren. Beverly lived to bring joy to their lives.

Although she suffered for 46 years from rheumatoid arthritis, she seemed to have endless energy and never let her pain get in her way. Whether she was volunteering at Valley Presbyterian Church, taking piano lessons, planning family trips, making endless detailed to-do lists, or organizing outings for her grandchildren, she always focused on the positive and never complained about her physical ailments. Beverly’s zest for life was appreciated by everyone who knew her and has given us all something to strive for. As her family, we are lucky that she was so vocal and present in our lives. We have no doubt how much she loved us and she knew how much we loved and adored her.

She is survived by her beloved husband of 44 years, Randall Tozer, children Sean (Jana) Rollinson, Stephanie (Juan Restrepo) Tozer, and Kevin (Jennifer) Tozer, her eight grandchildren Parker, Payden, Paulina, McKenna, Abby, Julián, Luke, and Lola, her siblings Jackie (Frank) Shewmaker, Bob (Debbie) Stonecipher, Brenda (Doug) Byers, Bill (Mary Margaret) Stonecipher, and Bryan (Kathy) Stonecipher, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins. She is preceded in death by her parents, Lovell and Haney Stonecipher, her niece Brooke Stonecipher, and her nephews Jonathan Stonecipher and Andrew Stonecipher.

A celebration of her life will be held at 3:30 pm on Saturday, May 21st at Valley Presbyterian Church in Paradise Valley, Arizona. In lieu of flowers, the family asks for donations in her honor to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). It is a foundation for which she cared deeply because her daughter Stephanie, grandson Julián, and nephew Nicholas all have Type 1 Diabetes. 

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