May 18, 1975 – September 20, 2020

On Sunday, Sept. 20, Beverly Jolene Burks, 45, removed her feet from the soil in Columbus, OH and planted them forever in the sand on a sunny beach. Her parents, Jackie and Robert Burks, were waiting there for her with a cold margarita.

Bev stuck around just long enough to enjoy her tenth wedding anniversary to the love of her life, Dan Varga. Beverly and Dan were the picture of a loving union. Together, they showed the world what a perfect match looked like (outside of the fact that Dan is a talented chef and Bev really only cared to eat nachos and side salads).

An Austintown Fitch High School grad (class of ‘93) who was born in Youngstown, Beverly lived with Dan and their two dogs, Remy and Jaxon, in Columbus. She was known for lighting up rooms with her remarkable smile and making anyone who was lucky enough to meet her feel incredibly special. She was witty, with a flair for a flawlessly timed – and perfectly unexpected – sarcastic joke. The only thing bigger than her loyalty to her loved ones was her profusion of brown curls.

Beverly graduated from The Ohio State University in ‘98, and she was forever a faithful Buckeye, who always looked stunning in scarlet. Fittingly, she spent her final moments surrounded by friends and family at the OSU Medical Center on a sunny September day that she would say was perfect for a tailgate.

She is survived by her husband, Dan; her stepsons, Eric and Donnie; her four siblings, Scott, Becky (Tom), Eric (Jody), and Brian (Monica); and her nieces and nephews, Brandon, Bethany, Taylor, Karleigh, Cory and Kyle. She is also survived by a massive club of friends and chosen family – because no one has ever met Bev who did not immediately love her.

On Saturday, October 3, friends and family gathered together online to celebrate Beverly’s life with a pandemic-friendly celebration. Please view the recording below. Plans for an in-person event to commemorate Beverly's May birthday are in mind and will be announced, pending pandemic safety guidelines. Whether the in-person celebration is able to happen this May or has to be postponed due to health and safety concerns, rest assured that, when it happens, it will involve Bev's favorite sport, bar crawling. Please sign the guest book below to be added to the list for email notifications of future plans.

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In lieu of flowers, please enjoy a margarita with extra salt and make a donation in Bev’s name to CHA Animal Shelter in Columbus, where Beverly and Dan adopted their dogs.