Beverly Caviness

Beverly Caviness, 85, of Greenfield passed away Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020, at Greenfield Rehabilitation and Health Care Center in Greenfield.

Funeral services will be held 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Feb. 12, 2020, at Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield with burial in Greenfield Cemetery.

A luncheon will be held following the burial at Greenfield Gospel Chapel. Mr. Tilman LaBuff will officiate the service. The Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield is in charge of the professional arrangements. Online condolences may be left to the family at www.steenfunerals.com.

Open visitation will be held at Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield from 4 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 11 at Steen Funeral Home in Greenfield.

Memorials may be directed to the Beverly Caviness memorial fund to be established by the family at a later date.

Beverly Colleen Claussen was born May 31, 1934, in Davenport to Ludwig D. Claussen and Velma Irene Phares Claussen. When Beverly was eleven years old, while at a church service in Centerville, she realized her need of a Savior and accepted Jesus Christ’s free gift of salvation. While growing up she attended schools in Centerville and then Corning, graduated from Corning High School, and then attended Broadlawns School of Nursing in Des Moines.

While studying at Broadlawns, Beverly began corresponding with Harold Merritt Caviness, a young farmer from Orient. Harold was in the army, serving in France. When he returned, Beverly married her farmer Feb. 14, 1954. On their way home from their honeymoon in Missouri, Harold purchased a garden hoe for her. Now she was officially a farmer. They bought Rollie Dwigans’ farm (Harold’s grandfather’s farm) south of Greenfield where they lived for over 60 years. To their marriage four children were born: Becky, Beth, Randy and Ronnie.

For almost 50 years, Beverly wrote “The Rural Scene,” a weekly newspaper column for the Adair County Free Press. She served for a number of years as a Sunday school teacher at Greenfield Gospel Chapel. Over the years she and Harold hosted many chapel speakers and missionaries in their home. Beverly was active in Stonecroft Ministries, serving in many capacities in Creston’s Prime Time Connection and was a speaker at various clubs all over Iowa and surrounding states.

Beverly was preceded in death by her husband Harold; her parents; her in-laws Merritt and Ila Dwigans Caviness; stillborn son Ronnie; her brother Richard Claussen; brothers and sisters-in-law: Earl (Rachel) Caviness, Melba (Jay) Moeller, Dale Jungst, and Bill Robbins.

Beverly is survived by her children: Becky (Alton) Davis, Beth (Tilman) LaBuff and Randy (Janalee) Caviness; six grandchildren: Brandi (Mac) Martin, Jadon Davis, Shannon (Dale) Whitehead, Shane (Jennyfer) LaBuff, Sherah LaBuff and Merritt Caviness; four great-grandchildren: Jackson and Ella Ernst, Axton and Ares LaBuff; sisters-in-law: Helen Claussen, Reva Jungst and Lois Robbins; as well as many nieces, nephews, and friends.