Dr. Beverly J. Vanderpool, MD

Beverly J. Vanderpool of Galveston, TX, passed away Thursday, December 22, 2022, at the University of Texas Medical Branch. 

Born in Denton, TX on July 3, 1941 with the name Beverly Jo Trice, she joined the Trice family which eventually included her father, mother, older brother, Danny, and younger brother, Gordon.  

Bright and energetic, while excelling in school, she began working as a baby sitter when twelve, and, by the time she was 16 she was promoted from selling tickets for a Fort Worth movie company, to, of all things, keeping the movie company's books! 

Marrying early to Don McMahon, she gave birth to son Mark, and daughter Julie. While taking care of her much-loved children, she continued to further her education.  She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Fort Worth Christian College, from which she graduated Magna Cum Laude.  She also earned a bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas, Arlington, and entered Medical School at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, and receiving her MD in 1974.  Specializing in Psychiatry after that, she completed a Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry three years later.  

Tragically, Beverly's daughter, Julie McMahon, died in her sleep while Beverly was finishing her Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.  Strong-willed and determined, Julie had received a Law Degree from University of Tulsa College of Law and had become highly involved in working with problematic children--like her mother.  

Meanwhile, Beverly's son, Mark McMahon, who began working for the Corps of Engineers here in Galveston when he was a teenager, received his Bachelor of Science Degree from Texas A& M as a structural engineer. 

Dr. Beverly and Dr. John Vanderpool married more than forty years ago.  Their marriage became a great blessing to both.  They began and always remained soul mates.  Inclusive and active, they brought their two families together, adding John’s sons Bryan, Reed, and Scott to Beverly’s two children.                                                                                                              

Together, they built a large psychiatric practice in Texas City and worked as locum tenens in numerous settings, including The Center for Health Care Services in San Antonio, TX, Winn Army Hospital in Fort Stewart, GA, and Alaska Psychiatric Institute in Anchorage, AK. 

Even after retiring to Galveston in 2011, Beverly didn't quite stop working.  She set up a video-type of counseling that attended to the needs of Texas prison mates who displayed psychiatric symptoms. She also worked with the nurses in the various prisons she served in order to render good care to the prisoners in need of psychiatric treatment.  

In addition to her husband, John, her son, Mark, and John's son, Bryan (plus his caring wife, Tracy, and his two daughters, Jessica and Taylor), Beverly's close surviving relatives include Mark's beloved wife, Teresa McMahon, grandson Jarett McMahon (Rebecca), and great granddaughter Nancy Charlotte McMahon.  She is preceded in death by her parents Gordon Trice and Alene (Trice) Crouch, brother Danny Trice, daughter Julie McMahon, son Reed Vanderpool, and a stillborn infant daughter. 

A special thanks to the outstanding medical staff at Jennie Sealy Hospital who took care of Beverly.  Their combination of expert and personalized care will be honored and remembered for years to come. 

Visitation will be held Wednesday, December 28, 2022 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at J. Levy & Termini Funeral Home, Galveston, Texas. 

Funeral services will be held Thursday, December 29, 2022 at 10:00 a.m. at J. Levy & Termini Funeral Home, Galveston, Texas, with Dr. Harold Y. Vanderpool officiating. Interment will follow at Galveston Memorial Cemetery, Hitchcock, Texas.

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