Beverly Jean Harness

Beverly Jean (Williams) Harness passed to the Lord’s hands on December 13, 2025. She was born on November 23, 1933, in Olathe, Kansas, to her parents, Leonard E. Williams and D. Hazel Williams. She was joined by a younger brother, Gerald Earl Williams, five years later. She had her first brush with fame as Little Miss Olathe in 1937. She attended Washington Elementary School and Olathe High School, where she was a cheerleader, graduating in the class of 1951. It was in Olathe where she met her husband, Bill Harness, and they were married on November 9, 1952. They had two children, Philip Steven Harness (Marcie) and Pamela Sue (Harness) Schaff. Beverly was a lifelong resident of Johnson County, Kansas, except for eight years when she lived in Branson, Missouri.

Beverly worked in the Johnson County Courthouse in the County Clerk’s Office and the Clerk of the Probate Court until she entered the title insurance business. She worked for Hedrick Title until 1971 when she began working for Columbian Land Title, retiring in 2005, when she and her husband, Bill, moved to Branson, Missouri. He preceded her in death in 2007.

Beverly had many hobbies. She loved gardening, landscaping, and floral arranging. She spent a few years working as a florist at Tobler’s Floral in Olathe. She and her husband worked the craft show circuit for many years, where she was known for her embroidered sweatshirts and t-shirts. She secretly wanted to be a home builder like her father. Beverly and Bill built several of their own family homes. Other joys included traveling across the United States, Europe, and Egypt to name a few destinations. She treasured fishing in Alaska with her husband, spending time in Arizona with her parents, and snowbirding in Florida with her great friend, Ray Schaffer.

She became known as “Grandma Cookie” to her four grandchildren, and she is survived by three of them, Melissa Flores (Praxedis III), John Domoney (Courtney), and Ashley Chain (Johnny), and ten great-grandchildren. Her fourth grandchild, Angela Harness-Cline (Scott), preceded her in death in 2021. Beverly and Bill almost never missed a grandchild’s event. She adored her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren immensely.

Beverly is remembered for her style, her spice and her dedicated love to her family and friends. Until we meet again.