She was born on August 5, 1930 to Legrand Pollard and Edith Price Backman in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the fourth child of LeGrand and Edith. Her older siblings are Robert LeGrand, Mary Jean, and Richard Price, with James Hilmer the youngest.
When Beverly was four years of age, her father was called to preside over the South African Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The family moved from Salt Lake City to Capetown, South Africa where Beverly and her siblings made many lifetime friends during their 3-1/2 years there. She recalled being treated as the "little sister" to the missionaries who lived in the mission home. She learned Afrikaans in school and even brought home a lovely English accent when the family returned from missionary service. She celebrated her eighth birthday in Hamburg, Germany, while the family was travelling home after their service in the mission field.
Beverly was raised in the Yale area of Salt Lake City where she enjoyed the friendships of the many children her age. She attended Uintah Elementary School where she lost her English accent, Roosevelt Junior High School, East High School, and the University of Utah.
She met a dashing, handsome, talented piano player – Robert Edward Davis -- in her class at East High School. She asked Robert to a girls' choice dance and quickly discovered the pitfalls of trying to date a musician – his band had a gig lined up for that night! Bob and Beverly dated through high school and college and were married in the Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on April 23, 1952.
To this union four children were born – Scott Backman, Gary Edward, Martsie, and Julie.
During the Korean War, Dad was stationed at Ft. Lee, Virginia with the Army Band. Mom accompanied him to Ft. Lee with Scott and Gary. She made more lifetime friends during their time in Virginia. Martsie was born at this time, also.
On their return from Virginia after Dad's release from army service, they made their home in Sugarhouse, Utah, and subsequently in Murray, Utah, where Julie was born. Mom, as a faithful member of the Church, would attend Relief Society on Tuesday mornings with three kids in diapers in tow.
A growing family meant a move to a larger home in Holladay, Utah, where Mom and Dad raised their four children and a menagerie of pets – dogs, cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, turtles, fish, and pigeons – as Mom loved animals as much as her children did. She was honored to be able to work as a docent for Hogle Zoo and enjoyed being able to present zoo mammals, reptiles, and birds to children throughout Utah.
Mom served faithfully in many callings in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and enjoyed being a part of the Ward. She also served for decades as a volunteer at St. Marks Hospital. She called this "going to work."
Mom thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her children and grandchildren; we know who was her favorite! She also enjoyed spending time at the family cabin at Bear Lake and loved the wildlife on the mountain. Other highlights in her life were the weekly lunch group at Su Casa Restaurant, her Book Club, and – especially – Grand Days Out. She inherited the Backman travel gene and was able to see a large part of the world. We have fond memories of her collecting selenite in St. George, overseeing digging for trilobites in Delta, digging for fossil fish in Kemmerer, trying to water ski at Bear Lake, downing a single scoop ice cream cone (big as a softball – we have pictures!) in Heber, and touring the mining ghost towns of western Utah. Then there were numerous trips to Indianapolis for the Indy 500 race, Cowboy Poetry in Elko, surviving Disneyland, and travel to Alaska, Canada, Europe, Asia, Scandinavia, and her beloved Africa. And the girls' trips to Sun Valley with her daughters.
Mom started slowing down -- just a bit -- after Dad's passing in 2018.
She is also pre-deceased by her parents and three of her siblings – James, her baby brother, is still alive – and numerous relatives, friends, and acquaintances. (She is, after all, 92 years old!) She leaves her children Scott (Terri), Gary, Martsie (Dennis Webb), and Julie (David Blanton), along with 24 grandchildren including spouses and 29 great-grandchildren -- with more to come! This is her precious and beloved posterity; Mom and Dad are our heritage.
We humbly thank the T-9 Nursing and Palliative Care Teams and the doctors and specialists at Intermountain Medical Center for their care, grace, guidance, and words of counsel during the time Mom was ill. Lunch is on us!
A special thanks also to Wasatch Lawn Memorial Gardens for their expertise and help in Mom's funeral preparations and arrangements.
And thanks to the ward members, neighbors, and friends who offered Mom love, friendship, and support – especially these past few years.
We will miss the Sunday dinners, Steak and Crab with Grandma, and the comradery, friendship, example, love, and ready smile and laugh which were Mom's trademarks throughout her life. We know that she is enjoying a sweet reunion with Dad and her family and friends on the other side of the veil – certainly more numerous than those who mourn her here.
A viewing will be held on Wednesday evening, January 4, 2023, at the Ward house at 1925 East Gunderson Lane (4101 South) from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A viewing will also be held prior to Mom's funeral service on Thursday morning, January 5, 2023, at the same Ward house from 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM. The funeral will follow at 11:00 AM.
Interment will be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Garden next to Dad.
