Jill Margaret Beuter

Jill Margaret Beuter, born Jill Margaret Hanson to Nina Hanson (née Archibald) and Harry Hanson, in Lewiston Idaho, 08/03/1935, was the second of three children: older brother, Mack and younger sister, Polly. She lived in Genesee, ID until she was 12. Her very first job was as a papergirl, which she took very seriously in spite of falling asleep in a snowdrift during one of her routes. She moved to Chicago with her mother and siblings in 1947, graduating from Hirsch High School in 1953. An aside: She tried to become a papergirl Chicago but they wouldn’t let a girl deliver papers. She was crushed. Jill worked her way through college and graduated from Chicago’s DePaul University in 1958 with degrees in Music and English. She was an accomplished piano and organ player. After graduation she worked as a substitute school teacher and part-time flight attendant until 1960 when she was forced into retirement by the airlines because she got married. Rules are rules! Only single ladies back in the day. Jill married Forester (and Airforce Flyboy!) John Herman Beuter in Chicago on 12/10/1960. He swept her off to the Airforce base in Grand Forks, ND. In January. The temperature was -40 degrees F. Thankfully, a move West was soon pending. The dynamic duo moved to Portland, OR in 1961. Jill was a school teacher at Abernathy Elementary School until the pregnancy she had been trying to hide (baby Kurt) could no longer be concealed. She was allowed to finish the school year (no pregnant teachers allowed back then, alas) and Kurt made his first appearance in July 1962. From 1963-65 the threesome lived in Ames, Iowa as John pursued his PhD in Forestry. They fled Iowa in 1965, moving back to Portland in time to become a foursome when Karena joined the band in September. John was offered a job as a Forestry Professor at Oregon State University so the family packed up the dog and moved to Corvallis, OR in Summer of 1970, which remained her home-base for the rest of Jill’s life. Jill worked, as time allowed, in special education, and substitute taught in the Corvallis School District while raising her two children. Upon turning 50, kids out of the house and wanting to change things up, she pursued her long-term interest in music therapy, attending Willamette University in Salem, OR. She completed an internship in Virginia while living in Washington DC and secured her degree from Willamette. She returned to Oregon, worked as Music Therapist, first at Mid Valley Children’s Guild in Salem and then at Portland Adventist Hospital in the adult psychiatric wing until returning to Corvallis full time in 2004. Jill was active, enjoying nature-walking, yoga, swimming, traveling to Ashland for performances during the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and to Shasta, CA to visit her brother, Mack. She traveled the world: Italy, Peru, New Zealand, Turkey, Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Germany, Indonesia, Switzerland, Russia, and on and on. In September 2006, John passed away after a three year illness during which Jill was an excellent advocate and caregiver. Jill worked as a volunteer for the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra until 2019, coordinating multifaceted logistics for the annual children’s concert. Each year was a smashing success! Throughout her years in Corvallis she volunteered at the Folk Club Thrift Shop and made many friends along the way. She enjoyed playing bridge with the same group she joined in 1970 and more recently had joined a book club. More friends made! Jill was a marvelous, involved, attentive, encouraging, loving mother & mother-in-law, and a great example to her children, demonstrating that learning new things and pursuing new careers can be done anytime. She loved Kurt and Karena beyond measure and they loved her back in kind. She reinvented herself midlife and had a fulfilling career she loved for years. She was a supportive and complementary partner to her husband in their 46-year marriage. Jill was a perennially positive person, always keeping busy, moving forward, seeking new experiences. A minor stroke in 2017 only slightly affected her cognitive functioning. A more significant stroke during the swirl of the global pandemic in November 2020 necessitated a significant change in her lifestyle, but she still enjoyed her home in Corvallis and was able to be mostly independent with the help of her wonderful caregiver, April, who spent a few hours every day with her, going on long nature walks, cooking, playing with April’s doggie, etc. Jill passed away in Corvallis, OR on 04/18/2023, hours after a third stroke. Karena had the honor of ushering her through her transition. She is survived by her children, Kurt and his wife Ming Png, Karena and her husband Eric Bennes, and three grandchildren, Rahnia, Clyde, and Drake. She would also want us to mention her multitude of grand-dogs throughout the decades, with which she was delighted, doting, and slightly obsessed, frankly. We will love and miss her forever. Please share your thoughts and memories for the family at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.

Tributes

Jill Margaret Beuter

August 3, 1935 - April 18, 2023