Obituary of Beverly Strombeck

Beverly Jean Strombeck

Brooklyn Park, Minnesota – Beverly J. Strombeck, 96, died peacefully in her sleep on September 11, 2024 at her assisted living residence. She was born on April 30, 1928 in Richland Center, Wisconsin, the daughter of Edward and Mary (Lusk) Kurtz.

They lost their family farm in Wisconsin during the Depression when Bev was 4 years old and they moved to Chicago. Bev thrived living in the big city. She made many friends – many of who she kept well into her adulthood. She graduated from High School and went on to become a secretary throughout her twenties, eventually hitting the pinnacle of that profession by working for the CEO of a major Advertising Agency. She took college classes, joined a Sorority, and lived on Michigan Avenue – the height of big city living. She married her husband, Charles Strombeck, in 1957 when she was 29 years old. Chuck, as Bev affectionately called him, was offered a job in Minneapolis and they moved there in 1958. After living in Chicago most of her life, she was rather disappointed in the “small town” aspects of the Minneapolis of 1958. (She eventually grew to love it here.) She was pregnant with her first child, Lisa, got a job but was fired as soon as she started showing. Thus ended her professional career yet devoted her life to supporting her family. She never worked for pay again but was an avid volunteer. She eventually went on to have two children (Lisa and Gary). After 25 years of marriage, she became a widow when Chuck died very quickly and unexpectedly at age 56. It was at that point her volunteering became her life’s work. She worked for the Fairview Southdale Hospital Library for 25 years, ARC’s Value Village for nearly 30 years plus other volunteer gigs throughout that time.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband, Charlies Edward Strombeck, her brother Robert Kurtz and beloved in-laws, nieces and nephews. Surviving are daughter Lisa (Greene) Strombeck and her husband George of Minneapolis, Minnesota; son Gary Strombeck and his wife Dawn of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Grandchildren Joe Bruchman, Matthew Greene, Carter Greene, and Jackson Strombeck; Great Grandchildren Walker Bruchman, Willow Bruchman and Great Great Grandchild Miah Bruchman, plus many beloved nieces and nephews.

Bev was extremely social and loved to laugh and joke around. At her assisted living facility she was widely known for participating in all of the classes and social activities they provided. She loved to dance and went dancing a couple times a week for much of her widowed life. She will be missed by all who had the good fortune to know her.

A celebration of life will take place graveside on November 8, 2024, 12:00 noon, at Oak Hill Cemetary, 11900 South Kedzie Avenue, Chicago IL 60655.

Those who wish to remember Bev in a special way may make gifts in her memory to the American Diabetes Association; www.diabetes.org or P.O. Box 7023, Merrifield, VA 22116-7023