Memorials › Beverly Ann Griesenbeck Worthington
Beverly Ann Griesenbeck Worthington
22 Jan 1937 – 4 Feb 2015
| Birth | 22 Jan 1937 |
| Death | 4 Feb 2015 |
| Cemetery | Waxahachie City Cemetery Waxahachie , Ellis County , Texas , USA |
| Added by | Judy Evans on 20 Apr 2025 |
| FaG | https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/142416538 |
Bio
Beverly Worthington, 78, of Waxahachie, Texas, passed away Wednesday, February 4, 2015, in Dallas, Texas. A memorial service will be at 2 p.m., Saturday, February 7, 2015, at the First United Methodist Church in Waxahachie with Rev. Bruce Zimmerman officiating. Burial will be in Waxahachie City Cemetery. Beverly Ann was born in Bastrop, Texas, to the late Henry O. and Roberta Menefee Griesenbeck. She was an active member of the First United Methodist Church and a member of the Covenant Sunday School Class. Beverly was characterized as a woman of many accomplishments and awards for her community service. She was a member of the West Ellis County Unit of the American Cancer Society, Waxahachie YMCA, and a board member where she received the YMCA Samuel G. Winstead Award in 1986. She also received the Waxahachie YMCA Volunteer of the Year award in 2007. Beverly was the President of the Waxahachie Junior Service League, Board Member of the Waxahachie Salvation Army, Charter Member of the Waxahachie Symphony League, Board Member of the Waxahachie Senior Citizens Center, and member of the Waxahachie Jaycees. She was the recipient in 1970 of the Outstanding Young Women of America. She also served as Chairman of the Commercial Trade Committee for the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce, on the Board of Directors of the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce, and was the first woman to be elected as Chairperson of the Board for the Waxahachie Chamber of Commerce. She also received the Waxahachie Chamber's Special Presidential Award for her efforts to light the Ellis County Courthouse in 1991 and the Waxahachie Chamber's Special Chairperson's Award in 2004. She was a Board Member of Waxahachie Foundation, President of Business Woman's Luncheon Club and Outstanding Club Woman in 1980, Vice Chairman of the United Way Drive, United Way Drive Chairperson in 1982 and Chairperson of the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. Beverly's home was featured on the Gingerbread Trail in 1975, and she was crowned Crape Myrtle Queen in 2010. She also received the Head Start Volunteer Award in 1995. Beverly worked for Ellis National Bank as a Marketing and Public Relations Officer from 1978 to 1980. Later, she became Vice President of Marketing at Citizens National Bank of Texas from 1980 to 2005 and was instrumental in launching CNB'S Citizens Club Travel Program in 1986. In 2006, she became a Marketing Consultant for Ellis County Abstract & Title for several years until her retirement. Beverly was a lucky woman...she got to have two loves in her life. First, her high school sweetheart, Roy, and second, her arm candy, Tom McAfee, with whom she traveled the world. She was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years and father of her children, Roy Worthington, and brothers, Harold and Larry Griesenbeck. Survivors include her daughters, Becky Worthington, and Wendy Middleton and her husband, Steve; son, Gary Worthington and his wife, Kristen; grandchildren: Ryan Wood, Leah (Wood) and Ryan Chabot, Emily Wood, Jaclyn Worthington, Lucas Worthington, Preston and Brooke Middleton, Aaron Middleton, Vincent and Meredith Gonzalez, and Eddie and Hannah Gonzalez; six great-grandchildren; best friend, Tom McAfee; other relatives and many friends. T4 ******************** BeverlyWorthington: A life to be celebrated. Feb 6, 2015 BY SHELLY CONLON Daily Light Digital News Editor Beverly Worthington loved to sit out on her back patio and look into Chapman Park from her backyard and watch life go by. Two weeks later, she'd be in Beijing and loving the atmosphere there. She had friends out on the lake and would sit on their docks just to watch the world pass. And a couple of weeks later, she'd be on a body of water in northern Italy. She would work on restoring the Waxahachie train depot and then take a train trip across Canada. "There were just two different people there that loved life so much — it was amazing to us that she had the energy that she had. The beauty of Beverly was that she felt very, very comfortable in her own skin," said Bob Lynn, a close friend and fellow co-worker. "Once, she was working on a project that I was working on, and it was for kids. It was a banquet for that night to raise money for, I think, the Boys and Girls Club. All afternoon, all she did was blow up helium balloons for two or three hours. She goes home, cleans up, and a couple hours later, she comes back and is just dazzling everybody because she's just so beautiful." The banquet, Lynn said, was about 10 years ago, and he can't remember a time where Worthington wasn't embracing life, he said. Worthington, 78, passed away Wednesday, with a memorial service officiated by Waxahachie Bible Church's head pastor Bruce Zimmerman held Saturday afternoon at First United Methodist Church (FUMC)."She was always willing to be down in the trenches, and she never was looking for any accolades, or awards or trophies," Lynn said. "It was one of most surprising things I had ever known that she was never (Waxahachie's) Citizen of the Year. She was humble. Surprisingly, as vivacious as she was, there was a shyness to her, too. She lived so many different aspects of life that were just amazing, and she had just as much fun being here and rolling up her sleeves, or getting things organized or getting her hands dirty, as she did visiting elegant places in Europe." To name a few of her accomplishments, Worthington worked for Ellis National Bank as a marketing and public relations officer from 1978-1980. From 1980 to 2005, she served as the Citizens National Bank (CNB) of Texas vice president of marketing, where she was instrumental in launching CNB's Citizens Club Travel program in 1986, which allowed customers to travel with CNB. In 2006, she became a marketing consultant for Ellis County Abstract and Title before she retired. She was the first woman president for the Chamber of Commerce board of directors, and served on several boards throughout the city. She was Waxahachie's Crape Myrtle Queen in 2010, and chairperson for the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk in 2003. But that's not what Worthington would speak about, Zimmerman said. The awards and accomplishments don't touch on the heart of who she was, he said. With every choice, she chose to be happy, he said, giving each letter of her first name to describe who she was and the impact she made in the community. As a BARGINER, if there was a garage sale or a deal to be had, Worthington was there, Zimmerman said. In fact, to see FUMC hosting its annual giant garage sale before her service just added something special, he said, adding FUMC should have named the garage sale the Beverly Worthington Garage Sale."She enjoyed it. She treasured it. She liked to find things — nothing she necessarily really needed, but things that needed a good home. Things that could be shared perhaps with somebody else. Things that were unique," Zimmerman said. Worthington was born and raised into humble beginnings, living one time in a boxcar, he said. So, she appreciated the value of just everything after going through periods of time where she didn't have anything, he said. An ENCOURAGER, Worthington helped Zimmerman as a young pastor 30 years ago understand the importance of always giving respect, even if it might not be deserved, he said. He said during the 30 years afterward, he witnessed Worthington always using kind words and encouraging others to go after what seemed out of reach. She encouraged her children, her friends and often left them with the lesson of, 'You just need to try something new,' Zimmerman said. Cindy Smith, CNB's executive vice president, said Worthington's persistence and encouragement is what changed her life 18 years ago when Smith was diagnosed with breast cancer. Smith's mother and Worthington were friends, she said, adding Worthington was a like a second mother and the pair worked together at CNB. "I remember telling Worthington I was going to have to have some surgery. I didn't know what I was going to do, really. I didn't know what doctor I needed to go to or anything like that, and she had a friend who she called to meet with me because I was just a basket case," Smith said. "She helped me make a phone call to UT Southwestern to get in to see a doctor, and they couldn't take me because I was a new patient and they couldn't see me for six weeks. Worthington refused to hang up the phone until she got with somebody to talk to me and make an appointment and she got me in the next day. My husband and I call her our special angel, because that literally changed our lives, because I did have cancer. At that moment, I really didn't know, but after I was diagnosed and went through all the treatments and look back, and relate to it now, it's absolutely huge because I don't know what those six weeks would have done had I not gone. I saw the doctor on Friday and had surgery on Tuesday. It was a whirlwind and I'll never forget, that's for sure. As a VOLUNTEER, Worthington gave of herself constantly, Zimmerman said. What summed up the spirit of Worthington's giving, Zimmerman said, was how much Worthington was willing to serve anywhere she was needed. If there was a cause to be fought for, she fought for it, said her friends. "Her personality blended everywhere, and if she was a friend to you, she was a true friend," said Peggy Loftis, a close friend and former fellow co-worker at CNB. "There were no boundaries to her friendship. There were no color boundaries; there were no social boundaries. A friend, to her, was just what was inside of you. To me, really, that's really unique for somebody to do." Smith added that while she and Worthington worked together, one of the travel club members would always stop by after a trip to bring Worthington a Beanie Baby stuffed animal. Smith said Worthington would never turn the woman away, and she and the traveler, who was new to the club, would cackle so loud, she'd have to jokingly tell them she was trying to work. Because Worthington didn't have the heart to tell the woman to stop bringing the little toy animals, her office walls were lined with them, she said. Zimmerman reiterated how ENERGC Worthington was — vibrant, full of life. In the entryway of her home is a large map of the world, he said. On the map are pins of every location Worthington traveled to, he said. Every place, except for Siberia and Antarctica, he thought. "This gal new how to live. She loved to travel and she loved to dance," Zimmerman said. "Even when she was cooking in the house, there was dancing. Dancing around the kitchen. Dancing with Roy (her late husband and high school sweetheart) way early in the morning. Kids coming home, and finding at 1:30 a.m., they're dancing. One of the things she said was don't hold back and don't hold grudges. Move on. Move forward. That's a great way to live every day." Tom McAfee, her best friend and traveling companion, said for all the time the pair had been together, the experience has been 'nothing but pure fun and joy,' Zimmerman said. She was also RELIGIOUS, Zimmerman said. She was religious about being in church. Every Sunday morning, you could see the two-door, cherry red, Ford Thunderbird in the same parking place at FUMC. She was also religious about her car and about having that parking spot, Zimmerman joked. Anyone who saw that Thunderbird, knew Worthington was in town, he said. She was religious about taking care of herself, making sure she was out exercising and staying active, he said. She was religious about her family and having them together, he said. At least once a quarter, she made sure the family came together to celebrate birthdays. Worthington was also religious about recycling, long before it became a social fad, Zimmerman said, adding she helped others in the community recycle, too. He recalled a story of how she would go up to Waxahachie's BaylorWorx physical therapy facility to workout on some of the electronic machines, only to leave with a handful of dead batteries from those same machines to give them a "proper burial." The staff knew her so much that they'd have a collection of dead batteries ready to go for her when she came in the next time, he said. The L in her name could stand for love, Zimmerman said, but he thought it stood more for LOYAL. She was loyal to her family, loyal to her mother in her time of illness, loyal to her husband Roy as he fought Alzheimer's disease, loyal to her friends, loyal to her church and loyal to the community. "She's just an amazing woman," Lynn said. "There's a lot of people that sit on boards in any community, and there's a lot of talking. Her greatest thing was she was doer. She'd get impatient with talking. She wanted to get it done and don't waste her darn time. There's doers and doers, you know? There's doers that take way too long, and Beverly was the person you always wanted to have on your committee because you knew it was going to get done and it was going to get done right." And last, but certainly not least, Worthington held an YES attitude. She was positive and uplifting, Zimmerman said. "She was an optimist who tried to say yes as much as possible. Some people find it easier to say no to everything," Zimmerman said. "She found it easier to say yes, and tried to say yes as much as she possibly could. She went through some tough times when that wasn't the easiest thing to say. After Roy's passing, she said, 'I've had my time for sorrow, and now I CHOOSE LIFE. I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.' Is that really possible? Is it really possible to have that? Beverly should be a demonstration to how that's absolutely possible." JUDY EVANS #49706236, April 21, 2025. I met Beverly when Roy was a patient at the same Nursing Home as my Mother. I so admired how she showed her love and devotion to him. I also had a personal experience with her after Roy's death. Beverly was the real thing. She felt very comfortable in her own skin.
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