Beverly Branch

Beverly Elizabeth Branch passed away Monday, September 19, 2011, in Durango, Colo. She was 93.

Beverly was born January 26, 1918, in Waterville, Maine, to the late Charles Ralph Fitch and Hope Elizabeth Richards Fitch. She married Francis E. (Bud) Branch in 1936, and in 1957 moved to Big Spring, Texas, with their family.

Beverly retired from Webb Air Force Base as Item Accounting Officer. She and her husband, Bud, retired in 1972 to the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, where they continued to enjoy more than 25 years of retirement, traveling to the San Juan Mountains in Vallecito, Durango, and Silverton, Colo., every summer to enjoy their passion of square and round dancing. She was an active member in the Order of the Eastern Star and belonged to the Osceola Chapter of Waterville, Maine. She was District Deputy Grand Matron and Grand Representative to the State of Colorado in Maine.

Beverly is preceded in death by her husband, Francis E. (Bud) Branch; grandson, Steven A. Coffin; sister, Felicia Etta Robbins; and five brothers, Ralph, Donald, Harry Cecil, Albert, and Bernard. She is survived by daughters Gwendolyn (Les) Clements of Plano, Texas; Nancy (Gerald) Swanson of Silverton, Colo.; Carolyn (Joe) Welch of Lake Tawakoni, Texas; and son, James E. Branch of Edinberg, Texas; ten grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren and three great-great-grandchildren; sisters, Constance Paul, Sybil Saucier, Ruth McCallen and Gilda Overman; many caring friends, and her precious Mimi.

A celebration of Beverly's life is tentatively planned in November in Harlingen, Texas, with graveside service planned in June 2012 at Hillside Cemetery in Silverton, Colo. Donations in her memory may be made to Cemetery Memorial Fund, P O Box 273, Silverton, Co., 81433 or to your favorite charity. Online condolences may be posted at Mrs. Branch's obituary: www.hoodmortuary.com.