Mission Viejo Woman Remembered By Friends, Family

MISSION VIEJO, CA — Friends and family mourn the loss of Beverly Ann Speiss, 67, of Mission Viejo, California passed away on Monday, September 17, 2018. She was born on Thursday, July 26, 1951 in Maximo, Ohio to Donald E. Rohr and Mary Jane (Luke) Rohr, who owned and operated a 700-acre dairy farm.

Ms. Speiss graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Louisville, Ohio in 1969, graduating second in her high school class, and later graduated from Saddleback Community College in Mission Viejo, where she obtained her Associate’s Degree. While she was accepted to Kent State University in 1969, the free spirited Beverly instead decided to travel and worked as a flight attendant for National Airlines, and was based in Washington, D.C. Upon moving back to Ohio, she subsequently worked as an assistant manager for the Ohio Department of Education in Columbus, Ohio, and as an automotive leasing agent for Bobb Chevrolet, also in Columbus. She then spent the majority of her career working as an Office Manager for the National Revenue Corporation, first at its headquarters in Reynoldsburg, Ohio and later in Southern California, where she worked with her husband, Tom Speiss, Jr. to form an extremely successful business relationship.

Ms. Speiss’s interests were quite varied. A child of the late 1960s, she enjoyed the sounds of the British Invasion and California, including later Beatles music and groups such as Peter, Paul & Mary. She found her true passion upon the release of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album and spent the next several decades warping Fleetwood Mac records and attending every Fleetwood Mac concert that she could.

Beverly further was a master seamstress, often making clothes from scratch for her friends and granddaughter, Natasha. She also was a friend to Scottish Terriers and had many Terriers as part of her home from the mid-1970s until her passing. In her later years, Beverly traveled frequently, including to Alaska and throughout Europe, with her sister Beatrice, was a level 10 gamer on Clash of Clans ─ an online video game developed by Finnish game developer Supercell - and spent any remaining free time she had with her granddaughter, attending her acting performances and cross country meets.

Beverly is survived by a legion of family members, including her only child, son Thomas (Sujata) Speiss, III and her only grandchild, Natasha, of Los Angeles, California; her 6 brothers and sisters, who are Roger (Karen) Rohr of East Rochester, Ohio; Joseph (Sandy) Rohr of Alliance, Ohio; Barbara Rohr of Alliance; Beatrice (Gary) Hoopes of Alliance; Samuel (Paula) Rohr of Louisville, Ohio; and, Edward (Kris) Rohr of Louisville and their 17 children and grandchildren. Beverly was preceded in death by her husband of 42 years, “Diamond” Tom Speiss, whom she married on November 30, 1969 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and who passed away on December 4, 2011 in Mission Viejo. Throughout her life, including after her husband Tom’s passing, Beverly has remained close with Tom’s 5 siblings and their 9 children and grandchildren.

A celebration of Beverly’s life will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, September 30, 2018 at the home of her loving friend, Joyce Helfrich of Mission Viejo, CA 92692. Should you desire to attend, please RSVP to celebrationofbeverly@yahoo.com for details. If you are unable to attend, please provide any letters or photos you’d like read or shared. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Camino Real Playhouse, where Beverly was often a patron and volunteer, caminorealplayhouse.tix.com

Photo, courtesy Murthy Sujata