Beverly Wells

Beverly Klahr Wells passed away on October 6, 2020 from cancer.  She passed away peacefully in her sleep surrounded by her family.

She was born on November 2, 1960 in Erie, Pennsylvania, and was the daughter of Lewis Shurtleff and Nancy van der Kloet Klahr. 

Beverly grew up in the Frontier neighborhood of Erie.  She attended Erie Day School, and graduated from Villa Maria Academy - class of 1979.  She graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania – class of 1983 - with a BS in Communications.  She was a member of the Kappa Delta Sorority. 

In 1989 she married Mark A. Wells, also of Erie.

Beverly worked for Erie Insurance Company as the Corporate Travel Coordinator for ten years before moving with her family to Johnstown, PA and spending next seven years as a stay-at-home mom with her two children.  In her spare time, she built a very successful EBay business.  While in Johnstown, she and her family developed many close friendships through play groups, Girl Scouting, progressive dinners, and family adventures in the forests and trails of the Laurel Highlands. 

Soon after her family’s return to Erie in 2005, she rejoined Erie Insurance, where she worked most recently as an Administrative Assistant in the Compliance Department at the company headquarters.  She loved her work and the many friendships she created with her coworkers. She made everyone’s day brighter and more cheerful just by being her caring, silly self.

In addition to her parents, she was succeeded in death by a cousin, Charles “Chad” Dean Klahr.

She is survived by her husband, Mark Wells, her son, Geoffrey Klahr Wells of Pittsburgh and daughter, Eleanor Kloet Wells of New York City.  She is further survived by her brother Jeff Klahr of Erie, her sister Elizabeth (Adel) Eldakar of Oxnard, California, and many nieces and nephews.

Bev was a kind and thoughtful person with many close friends – she was loved by all who knew her.  She was always one to remember birthdays and other events with cards and thoughtful gifts.  She had a special love for migratory birds, and enjoyed identifying them and keeping track of when they would return to her feeders each year.  In addition, she loved gardening and picking out new plants for the yard.   Also beloved were the family cats over the years.  She enjoyed the many family trips to visit her children in New York City and Pittsburgh.  Never one to boast, she was humble, sensitive, and wise with an infectious laugh and playful sense of humor.  She adored her family and put them before anything else.

In the community, she was a long-time member of First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, the Erie Yacht Club, and was a member of the Junior League. 

She enjoyed sailing from the time she was an infant with her father aboard the sailing yacht Enigma and, later on, her parents’ sailboat Entson.  Beverly attended the Junior Sailing and Adult Sailing programs at Erie Yacht Club, and even has her name on a trophy. She was also a member of the first volunteer crew of the US Brig Niagara in 1991. 

Friends may call at 12:00 noon with a funeral service at 1:00 on Saturday, October 17th, 2020 at First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, 250 West 7th Street, Erie, Pennsylvania, 16501 with Reverend Chris Weichman officiating.  Both events will be socially distant and masks will be required.  Attendees planning to stay for the service are asked to please email Office@firstcovenanterie.org to register.   The funeral service will also be livestreamed for public viewing on the funeral home Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/BurtonFuneralHomesAndCrematoryInc. 

Inurnment will be private.   Arrangements entrusted to Burton Quinn Scott Cremation & Funeral Services West Ridge, 3801 West 26th Street.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Because you Care Inc., 6041 West Road, McKean, PA 16426, the Erie Humane Society, 2407 Zimmerly Road, Erie, PA 16506,  First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, The Erie Community Foundation, 459 West 6th St, Erie, PA 16507 or the charity of one’s choice.