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AITKIN, MN -- Professor Emerita Beverly (Bev) Baartmans passed peacefully at home with family on September 25, 2026 at the age of 81. Bev was preceded in death by her parents, Paul and Blanche Beyreuther, and her husband, Alphonse Baartmans. Her brother Paul (Dick) and his wife, Luanne, reside in Aitkin, Minnesota.
Beverly was born in December of 1944 and raised in Aitkin, Minnesota. As a child, she
fondly remembered ice skating on the frozen Ripple River, fishing and playing cards with her family, and playing football with her neighbors, the Galarneault boys. After winning a game of cards, Beverly would always say that she was going to "sleep like a winner". Beverly believed that anything was possible with hard work, ingenuity, and dedication, and she pushed herself and others to strive and achieve. Beverly graduated valedictorian of her high school class in 1962 and then attended St. Olaf College where she double-majored in Math and Physics.
She returned to Aitkin in the summers and worked at the Shingwauk Resort, waitressing in the restaurant, singing for guests, learning the secret to making great pies, and waterskiing. While attending St. Olaf, she met her first husband Gary Gimmestad.
After graduation, she attended Northwestern University and obtained a Master of Arts in
Teaching, then married and moved to Boulder, Colorado where she earned a PhD in Math
Education at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her family grew in Boulder with the arrival of her two daughters in 1971 and 1976. In 1978, the family moved to Houghton, Michigan where she began her academic career at Michigan Technological University. Through tireless effort, attention to detail, and planning, she excelled at her work endeavors, leading teaching workshops in Upper Peninsula Schools, publishing papers and teaching mathematics courses.
In 1984, she developed a six-foot tall calculator to help demonstrate its use when
calculators were first emerging, and she was featured on the local news. Another notable
accomplishment was the publication of her textbook on Spatial Visualization for undergraduate engineering students, which is still in use today. Outside of work, Beverly had a passion for hosting many gatherings of friends, family, and colleagues, cooking elaborate meals on a budget, playing cards, and interior decorating. She often joked that had she not chosen academia, she would have been content as an interior decorator.
As a mother, Beverly communicated that academics were the first priority, spending
many nights helping with and checking her daughters' homework. That said, she supported the
pursuit of interests whether it be music, sports or foreign languages, with many long drives to summer camps. She prepared three meals a day while working full time and sewed countless costumes for ice skating performances, productions, and Halloween. She handmade pinatas for birthdays and could play the ukulele and sing Hawaiian songs.
In 1995, Beverly married Alphonse Baartmans whom she had met while working at
Michigan Technological University. Together, they enjoyed boating on the Houghton canal at
sunset with friends, Copper Country cruising, organizing faculty social events, and dancing at local pubs. While on sabbatical from Michigan Tech, they traveled the world, leading seminars at universities and attending conferences. When the couple retired, they spent summers at Twin Lakes and the winters in Fernandina Beach, Florida, enjoying the "good life" for 16 years. After Al's passing in 2024, Beverly sold the Florida home and moved to Urbandale, Iowa to be near family.
Beverly adored her grandchildren, dog Maya, and summers at her Twin Lakes property, the "Lodge". Beverly is survived by her brother Dick (Luanne) Beyreuther, Aiken, MN, daughters
Maryann (Brian) Huey, Urbandale, IA, Katherine (Eric) Gimmestad, Brighton, MI, step-sons
Dave (Carrie) Baartmans, Charlotte, NC, George (Laura) Baartmans, Chicago, IL, Sean
(Sharon) Baartmans, Portland, OR, grandchildren, Hannah, Jackson, Graham, Ryan, Kirsten,
Patrick, Matthew, Raymond, Noah, Elise, Bryce, Alex and Jacob, and great-grandchildren
Quinn, Parker and Reese. We miss her dearly and hope she is in heaven sleeping like a winner.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the PBS Foundation at
https://foundation.pbs.org/ways-to-give/memorial-honor-gifts/ in memory of Beverly Baartmans.
Beverly's favorite way to wind down the day was to watch the PBS News Hour. A memorial will
be held at Aitkin United Methodist Church, 104 2nd Street, Aitkin, MN on November 7, 2026 with an open house from 10:00 am to 11:00 am followed by a memorial service, ash burial and lunch starting at 11:00am. All friends and family are welcomed.