Beverly Ann Hayden (née Bergheim), 96, of rural Emmetsburg, Iowa, passed away peacefully on December 24, 2025, surrounded by her family.
Born October 16, 1929, near Howard, South Dakota, to Arthur and Burnette Bergheim, Beverly grew up on the prairie in a close Norwegian farming family. As a child she walked to a one-room country schoolhouse in the Belleview area with her only brother, Odell, which helped to shape her quiet strength and deep faith. After graduating from Howard High School, she attended South Dakota State University. She married Thomas Vincent Hayden on August 7, 1954. Together they built a life of love and devotion, living on the south side of Spencer and later on their farm outside Emmetsburg for more than 60 years.
Beverly enjoyed tending her flower gardens, sharing fellowship with her women’s church group at Bethany Lutheran Church, and friendships in both the Emmetsburg and Spencer communities. She took pride in her work at Crescent Electric in Spencer, where she was a skilled bookkeeper and typist.
Above all, she instilled the importance of family togetherness to all her children through her years of hosting family gatherings at holidays, birthdays, and special occasions with her love of making home cooked meals and playing card games.
She is survived by her five children: Jane (Kevin) Hedge, Thomas (Terri) Hayden, Timothy (Pamela) Hayden, Mark (Julie) Hayden, and Ann Hayden; 11 grandchildren; 9 great-grandchildren; and many dear nieces, nephews, and friends. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband Thomas (2014), her parents Arthur and Burnette Bergheim, and her brother Odell Bergheim.
Visitation will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 3, 2026, at Bethany Lutheran Church in Emmetsburg, Iowa, followed by the funeral service at 11:00 a.m. and a luncheon afterward.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Bethany Lutheran Church and the Nature Center in Ruthven, Iowa.
A life of faith, family, and quiet grace—beautifully lived, deeply loved, forever remembered.
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