The Beverly A. Burns Grimes Endowed Scholarship
Beverly Burns Grimes was born in Pekin, Illinois, the daughter of Freda (McGinnis) and Hobart Burns. She was raised on the family farm near Delavan, Illinois, and graduated from Delavan Grade and High Schools.
Her father died when she was 8 years old. She remembers visiting him in the hospital after the Sisters at St. Francis in Peoria granted special visitation privileges, allowing the children a visit with their dad. That was Beverly’s first introduction to nursing. She never forgot the kindness the nurses showed to the family at that visit. From then on she wanted to be a nurse.
In 1960, she graduated from Mennonite School of Nursing, and then married Morris Grimes. They had three sons, Bryan, Barry and Brent.
Beverly worked as Head Nurse and Educator in the In-service Training Department at the Peoria State Hospital from 1960-76. After the hospital closed, she returned to school to pursue a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She graduated with Honors from Bradley University in 1977. From 1977-81, she worked at Methodist Medical Center in Medical and Radiation Oncology.
In 1982, she became the Manager of the Diabetes Center at OSF Medical Center. In 1986, she met the eligibility requirements of the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) and was recognized as a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE). The CDE credential denotes a standard of excellence for the delivery of quality diabetes education. Beverly held this distinction until she retired in 2015.
During her tenure at OSF, the American Diabetes Association granted the OSF Diabetes Program this designation “Recognized Diabetes Self-Management Program.” Education programs must meet stringent standards set forth by the American Diabetes Association to attain “recognized status.” The OSF St. Francis Diabetes program was one of the first in Illinois to gain this status.
In 1993, Beverly, joined Caterpillar Inc. as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in an Outreach Program. At Caterpillar, she initiated a Telephone Diabetes Case Management Program for salaried and management employees with diabetes.
She worked at Medtronic Diabetes from 2002-12 as a Clinical Nurse Specialist. In this role, she educated physicians, nurses, dietitians and individuals with diabetes on managing diabetes using the insulin pump and glucose sensor system.
Beverly was inducted into the Nursing Honor Society, Sigma Theta Tau, Epsilon Epsilon Chapter in 1977. She received the Altrusa Community Service Award for being an outstanding community volunteer in 1985.
In 1992, she received, the Distinguished Alumni Award from Mennonite College of Nursing. This is the highest award the College bestows upon its graduates.
She served as Trustee for the Pekin Public Library Board, was a Member of the Illinois Valley Regional Library Board, and a Member of the Illinois Diabetes Advisory Board. She is Past President of the Pekin Junior Women’s Club, Pekin YWCA Board, Downstate Illinois Diabetes Association and was the Founder and Past President of the Central Illinois Diabetes Educators (disbanded in 2010).
Beverly is currently a member of the P.E.O. International Chapter LM in Pekin, Illinois, the Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary and Grace Presbyterian Church.
One of the things she most enjoys is spending time with family and friends, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. A very special interest is supporting Mennonite College of Nursing.