Beverly “Bev” J. Shears

Published February 13, 2023 at 2:53 PM

Beverly ‘Bev’ J. Shears, 88, formerly of Superior and currently of Duluth, died Wednesday, February 8, 2023, at St. Luke’s Hospital.

Beverly was born in Duluth on Sept 2, 1934, the daughter of David and Edna (Youngkrantz) Felt.

Bev was married to Oryle Maynard from February 28, 1952, until his passing on December 28, 1984, and together they had five daughters. She married Robert ‘Bob’ Shears on March 28, 1987, and they celebrated 35 years of marriage until his passing on March 18, 2022.

She had worked for many years as a school bus driver for the Superior School District. Early in life Bev enjoyed bowling, including setting up tournaments and bowling in mixed doubles leagues. She also volunteered for many years as part of the Goodwill Auxiliary.

She cherished her daughters, her grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sons-in-law, family, neighbors and friends, and enjoyed dancing and music. Bev was a talented painter and loved to paint watercolor and porcelain china. She created beautiful works of art for family and friends over the years.

She was preceded in death by her parents; first husband, Oryle Maynard; second husband, Bob; grandson, Tom Krause; and brother, David ‘Butch’ Felt.

Bev is survived by her five daughters, Debbie (Randy) Skowlund of Superior, Donna (Steve) Austreng of Coon Rapids, Dianne ‘DeeDee’ (Kirk) Krause of Superior, Barb (Kim) Krause of Superior and Patty (Chuck) Paton of Superior; grandchildren, Curt (Jill) Skowlund of Esko, Kris (Steve) Androsky of Waukesha, WI, Becca (Paul) Narverud of Bloomington, MN, Nick (Amanda) Austreng of Woodbury, MN, Travis Krause of Superior, Doug Krause of Superior, Joe (Nicole) Paton of West St. Paul, MN, Henry Paton of Superior and Vera Paton of Superior; great-grandchildren, Annabelle and AJ Skowlund, Elsa, Theo, and George Austreng, Nora and Beckett Narverud, and Charley Paton; brother, Curtis (Char) Felt of Duluth; sisters-in-law, Karen (Dennis) Cochrane of Superior and Bonnie Felt of Texas; and many nieces, nephews, and extended family.

Visitation will be on Saturday, February 11th from noon until the 1:00 p.m. memorial service at Downs Funeral Home, 1617 N 19th St., Superior, WI, with Pastor Kris Androsky as officiant. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery at a later date.

To leave an online condolence, please visit www.downsfh.com.