Beverly Diane Doss Baker was born July 30, 1953, in Florence, Alabama to the late Lt. Colonel Clifford Doss and Mary Thompson. She succumbed to the devastation of COVID – 19 on June 8, 2021, in Bloomington, IL.
Beverly married Wendell on August 30, 1977, and together they had one daughter, Taneika. After living in various Mid-western and Southern states, Wendell and Beverly made their home in Bloomington, IL.
Her beautiful smile and sparkling eyes will always be cherished and sadly missed by her mother, Mary Thompson of Florence, AL; her husband of more than 43 years, Wendell Baker of Bloomington, IL, and their daughter: Taneika (Edgar Jr.) Bailey of Bloomington, IL; her loving grandchildren: Jalil Baker, Olivia Reed, Elias Baker, Edgar Bailey III, and Ariana Maxwell and one great-granddaughter – Alani, all of Bloomington, IL; her siblings: Joan (William) Rowell of Florence, AL; Karl (Pam) Doss of Richmond, VA; Kelli Doss of Brooklyn, NY; Tyrone (Shermaine) and Erroll Thompson of Florence, AL; one Aunt, Alyce Doss (Lelton) Brown of Tuscumbia, AL; one sister-in-law, Melinda Doss of Huntsville, AL; and to her delight, an overabundance of first cousins and a host of nieces and nephews and other relatives and friends.
Beverly was preceded in death by her father, Lt. Colonel Clifford O. Doss; brother, Darrell Doss; and sister, Bertha Doss.
Beverly began her career in marketing and sales with GTE which later became Verizon Wireless and she enjoyed her many positions there for more than 40 years. After retiring for a short period, she decided that she was happier when she was working and took a position with T-Mobile where she was known for her helpful attitude and warm and friendly spirit. Beverly always greeted you with a smile and almost never met a stranger. Her personal motto in customer service was ‘if she didn’t have the answer for you, she would find someone who did’.
As quiet as she could appear, Beverly, who enjoyed collecting elephants and shopping in her quiet time, had an adventurous spirit and let her free spirit roam when she joined Wendell in the great outdoors on their motorcycle. Her greatest pastime and enjoyment were her grandchildren, and she was delighted about the prospect of the arrival of two more, Feonna and Kiara Bailey, in December of this year.
“Bev”, as she was fondly called by family and friends, loved nothing better than being with family and she and her cousin, Elaine, could often be found taking some road trip or another! There is no one who knew her who will not miss her, but we are comforted by the knowledge that she is at peace, as she joins her beloved family who went ahead to walk in the ‘Beautiful Garden of Prayer’.
