Aletha "Beryl" Drum

Aletha "Beryl" Drum, age 93, of Garnett, Kansas, passed away on Saturday, August 29, 2015, at Golden Heights Living Center in Garnett. Beryl, as she was always known, was born on October 21, 1921, in McCook County near Spencer, South Dakota, the daughter of Albert M. and Gertrude (Hunter) Goodwin. She grew up there attending grade school and graduating from Spencer High School with the Class of 1939. Her parents moved to Westphalia, Kansas, while she was a senior and she joined them there for the summer. Beryl went to work in Arkansas, then Iowa, Maryland and the District of Columbia, where she attended George Washington University and worked for the Navy Department during World War II. During this time, she participated in Bond Rallies conducted by the Secretary of the Treasury Morganthau in the front of the White House. Her treasured memories of Washington, D.C. included seeing President Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, standing beside the actor, Douglas Fairbanks and raking leaves with Gen. Hap Arnold, as well as attending the Easter Egg Rolls and Christmas Tree lighting at the White House and the Cherry Blossom Festivals. She married Paul Drum in Kansas on May 6, 1946, and they lived in Chicago, Illinois for several years before deciding to return to Westphalia to make their home. They established a small, busy business, Paul's Plumbing and Heating, and he installed most of the plumbing in the town of Westphalia and installed rural water lines when rural water was made available. Beryl was business bookkeeper, household manager and later Postal clerk at the Westphalia Post Office. Beryl and Paul enjoyed their camper and belonged to the Ozark Travelers and Prairie Chicken Camper Clubs. Following Paul's death, she moved to Bella Vista, Arkansas, in 1990 to be near her sisters living there. In 2003, Beryl moved to Garnett to make her home and be near her family. She was preceded in death by her husband, Paul Drum, in 1984, her parents, sister June Fite and husband Gil, sister Juanita Art and husband Don, brother-in-law Otto Rath, and nephew Jon Art. Beryl is survived by her children, Nikki June Feuerborn and husband Glen of Topeka, Kansas; Rita Eileen Boydston and husband Bruce of Centerville, Kansas; Paula Jean Walter and husband John of Welda, Kansas; Lana Susan Falke and husband John of Larkspur, Colorado; and John Paul Drum and wife Tina of Independence, Missouri; sister, Ida Rath, Wanda Meyer and husband Ben, and brother Preston Goodwin and wife Jean; thirteen grandchildren; two step-grandchildren; twenty-two great grandchildren; and many friends. Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 3, 2015, at the Feuerborn Family Funeral Service Chapel in Garnett, Kansas. Family will greet friends from 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. As Beryl continually supported various Veteran's organizations, a memorial has been established in her memory to the Wounded Warriors and can be left in care of Feuerborn Family Funeral Service. Condolences may be left at www.feuerbornfuneral.com