Berval McGee McAleer Obituary – Florida Times-Union

With great sadness we announce the passing of our beloved mother, Berval McGee McAleer. Mom died on New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2022, two years to the day after her precious sister, Joyce Winther passed away.

Berval Shirley McGee was born on February 27, 1928 in the small farm town of Woodbine, Iowa to Fred and Freda McGee. She was the oldest of three children and attended local schools, graduating from Woodbine High School in 1946. Shortly after graduating, she began working for the new dentist in town, Joseph William McAleer. It was obvious Berv was a beauty, and it did not take long for Joe to see she was also smart, fun, and that she could be the perfect partner for life. They married in 1947 and remained in Woodbine for a few years before Joe was re-called to the US Navy. Thus began Berv and Joe’s life adventure, moving to California with two small boys in tow. For Berv, being a Naval Officer’s wife was a whole new world which she expertly navigated with her typical quiet determination. Three California duty stations and two daughters later, Berv and Joe were off to NAS Quonset Point, RI. Four years and another daughter later found them in Millington, TN. After three years in Millington, they were transferred to NAS Jacksonville, FL where they retired from the Navy in 1972. During all that time Berv was the consummate Navy wife. She supported Joe in every way she could, from raising five children to participating in clubs and organizations such as the Navy Relief Society, Medical and Dental Officers Wives Club, and the Officer’s Wives Club. She hosted wonderful and memorable dinner parties, coffees and luncheons. Without a doubt, Berv was a “doer”. She proved it once again upon “retiring” to Orange Park. There she put her self-taught decorating and gardening skills to work on her well-loved River Road home. She worked tirelessly and joyfully to create a warm and welcoming home inside and out. She joined the Cardinal Garden Circle, St Catherine’s Women’s Council, Orange Park Women’s Club and the Magnolia Point and Eagle Harbor Golf Associations. Berv was a good golfer and for years enjoyed volunteering as a scorecard keeper at what began as the Greater Jacksonville Open which turned into the Tournament Players Championship. After a few years of civilian life, Berv became a licensed Real Estate Agent and enjoyed great success for over 20 years selling real estate in the Orange Park area. As time went on, Berv and Joe made the decision to downsize and moved to Tampa for a couple of years. They missed the beauty of the St John’s River and moved one last time together to a riverfront patio home at Moosehaven in Orange Park. Shortly thereafter, in 2013, Joe passed away.

Berv continued living in her home at Moosehaven where she cultivated more friendships for another eight years. In 2021, we began our long goodbye with Mom. Our vibrant, energetic mother was diagnosed with dementia. She made one last move to the Memory Care unit at Palagio in Orange Park where she still maintained her sweet demeanor and sunny disposition.

That is a timeline of our mom’s life. Here is what Mom was about: she was truly one of the best of the Greatest Generation. She was a very positive person. She was reserved but loved to laugh. She appreciated the humor of others but could laugh at herself, as well. She was smart, good with numbers, a quick learner and was very intuitive about people. She was understated and a great hostess. She had style. She loved flowers and plants. Her parties were fun, and laughter filled our home. She and Joe loved to dance and were really good at it, so we were told (by them). She was a faithful and devoted Catholic. Mom loved people and people loved Mom. The most common description we hear about her is that “she is such a lady”. She was one who treated others with respect and kindness, one who was thoughtful and caring, someone who you’d admire and want to be more like. She was gracious. Mom had so many friends who she met through her life as a Navy wife and those friendships spanned decades. A true measure of real friendship. She loved her real estate colleagues and clients. She liked listening to music and she liked watching sports, especially golf. She was very creative and talented and could make anything look better with a slight tweak. She liked to travel, especially back to her hometown of Woodbine, Iowa to visit with family, former classmates and to drive through the hilly green farmland she loved. She loved all kinds of dogs from her poodles and Yorkie to her granddogs of mixed origin.

Most of all, Mom loved her family. She always made birthdays, holidays, and visits special. She adored her grandchildren and was so proud to be called Mimi. She was the perfect Mimi! She was a one-of-a-kind all around lovely person. She was so loved and is so missed.

Mom was preceded in death by her husband Joe, her grandson Michael Austin, and her sister Joyce Winther. She leaves behind her sons Michael McAleer(Chris), Mark McAleer, her daughters, devoted caregiver Monica McAleer, Lori Austin(Robert), Mary McLaren (Scott), grandchildren Caitlin Squeglia (Nick), Emily McAleer, Connor McAleer, Mathew McAleer, Hannah Austin, Ali Austin, Cecilia McLaren, Lucy McLaren, Will McLaren and great grandchild Maddie Squeglia. She also leaves her brother Maurice McGee, many nieces and nephews, and a lot of friends.

We thank all of the wonderful caring people and caregivers who assisted Mom at Moosehaven, Palagio and Vitas Hospice. All of them played an enormously important role in helping Mom through the last several years. We are forever grateful.

We will honor Mom’s wishes by having a private family Mass with her inurnment to follow at Jacksonville National Cemetery where she will begin another adventure with her husband, Joe.