Beverly O?Donnell

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. ? Beverly ?Bev? O?Donnell, 67, of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, died Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, in Aspirus Wausau Hospital in Wausau, Wisconsin.

Funeral services will be at 11 a.m., Friday, Jan. 15, at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Catholic Church in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, with the Rev. Mark Miller officiating. Visitation will be from 4 to 8 p.m., Thursday at Ritchay Funeral Home in Wisconsin Rapids, and also from 10 to 11 a.m., Friday at the church. Burial will be at a later date.

Mrs. O?Donnell was born Jan. 18, 1947, in Belmond, the daughter of Johan and Ann (Cooper) Pals. She married Brian O?Donnell on Aug. 15, 1970, in Belmond.

She graduated from Belmond High School in 1966 and then obtained a nursing degree from Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines in 1969. Her career started at Iowa Methodist Hospital. She then went to Ellis Fischel Cancer Center at the University of Missouri, Columbia. She then moved on to Washington County Hospital in Washington, Iowa, and later to the University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City. She and her husband then moved to Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, where she was a nurse at Riverview Hospital and later was an advanced oncology certified nurse specialist at the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin Rapids. She retired from nursing on April 13, 2013. She enjoyed flowers, floral gardening, antiquing and shopping, and she always enjoyed the annual special week with family and friends at the Lake of the Ozarks. Most importantly, she loved spending time with her family, especially her grandchildren. She loved being a nurse, and her caring and compassion for each patient carried over to her role as a loving wife, mother, sister and friend. Her motto was one of always putting others first. She also loved cooking, and no one ever left the house hungry.

Surviving are her husband of 45 years, Brian; two children, Amy Hoffman and husband Derek of Waunakee, Wisconsin, and Brent O?Donnell and wife Olubunmi of Denver, Colorado; three grandchildren; one sister, Susan Long and husband Ted; one niece; and her adopted family, the Gatzke family.

She was preceded in death by her parents; and one brother, Gary Pals.