Obituary of Beverly Ann Goss

Beverly Ann Goss – mother, artist, community builder, tennis player, businesswoman, lover of mountains and rivers and animals – died on August 8, 2023, one day after her eighty-eighth birthday.

Beverly was a woman who held much in her life: her sons’ and grandsons’ hands; her pencils, brushes, and palette knife; her chisels and sanders and the texture of smoothing marble under her fingers; her portfolio swinging by her side in 1950s Chicago; her tennis racket; her unwillingness to occupy only those spaces deemed acceptable for women; the soft fur under her cat’s chin.

Born in Wichita, Kansas in 1935 to Maurice and Reba Van Dusen, Beverly attended East High School and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art at the University of Kansas, where she joined the Chi-Omega sorority. Following college, she married Jerry Goss and lived in Chicago, and set about getting a job in the graphic art and design world. One of her favorite stories was how she went to her job interviews, carrying her portfolio, and sensing repeatedly that the men felt she didn’t belong there. Often they just said it out loud, “we don’t need her.” But, as she told everyone,”I didn’t care what they thought; I knew I could do the work as well as or better than they could.” She was hired by Montgomery Ward and proved that true for several years.

After her two sons, Peter and Bryan, were born, Beverly focused her energy on motherhood but never gave up her creative life, always drawing and painting, while also crafting the best Halloween costumes any children could ever ask for.

After living in Cleveland, Denver, and Silver Spring, Maryland, Beverly moved with her family to Albuquerque in 1968 and to the village of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, in the north valley, in 1974. She drew and painted in her studio, kept up a lively social life, and served as a Los Ranchos Village Trustee and on the Board of Trustees of Albuquerque Academy. Beverly always created social engagement and community wherever she lived. The 4th of July block parties, hosted at her home in Dietz Farms were beloved annual gatherings, with a parade, potluck and endless fireworks that was a “must be there” for all in the area. So too, was her annual Christmas Eve party, often featuring local music, that gathered friends from all around.

A late blooming athlete, Beverly became a tennis fanatic, playing recreationally and competitively as a 4.0 USTA player around Albuquerque, including at Los Ranchos, at Tennis Club of Albuquerque, and at Tanoan. She loved the outdoors, hiking and biking at every opportunity.

After her divorce, Beverly rejoined the workforce, devoting many years in the KNME-TV graphics department, creating both print and on air graphics. It was the dawning years of digital technology and Beverly adapted her skills to these new tools, loving the challenge and the additional dimension and power it could add to her visual art and graphics.

In the late 1990s, with her sons off living their lives, Beverly attended a sculpture workshop in Marble, Colorado. She returned home telling everyone that there was a gallery with a huge studio for sale in Redstone, Colorado and that she thought she would buy it. Despite a lot of polite nodding, and echoing her attitude from those early days in Chicago, she did just that, becoming the proprietress of The Redstone Art Center, a stunningly beautiful place with the Crystal River running behind her home and business. She built a successful business and a circle of deep community connections that made the Art Center the hub of Redstone. Visitors and locals alike enjoyed and purchased art from the wide array of artists whose work filled the gallery. There were also frequent opportunities to watch Beverly sculpt in marble and alabaster or to attend workshops by other artists. Of course, there were the frequent social gatherings she hosted, including her annual Christmas party, another essential thread she wove into the fabric of the town. And, her much adored cat, Mocha, was always nearby.

Beverly reluctantly sold the gallery and returned to Albuquerque due to health concerns and lived her final years near the Sandia Mountains she loved. At the end, it was a gentle exit to a bustling, meaningful life. Her positive presence in so many lives, along with her many paintings and sculptures that adorn walls and gardens across the country, are her legacy.

The family would like to offer its deep gratitude to the caregivers at Beehive Building B and to Lynn Brennan for their devotion to Beverly in her final year of life.

Beverly is survived by son and daughter-in-law Peter Goss and Christina Griffith of Santa Fe, and grandson Liam Goss of Chicago; son and daughter-in-law Bryan and Lara Goss and grandsons Spencer Goss and Alex Goss of Albuquerque; and her brother, Maurice Van Dusen of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The family will host a private celebration of life and asks that donations be made in her memory to KHFM Radio, Beverly’s omnipresent audio companion for all her years in New Mexico. Donations can be made online at www.khfm.org or mailed to KHFM, 8009 Marble Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110.

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