SEQUIM — Mary Beery, faced with terrible news, said she decided to turn it into “something positive” — and then call attention to it.
So on Friday afternoon, she met her son, Will Beery, at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in downtown Sequim, and told him to shave her head.
Beery, 62, was diagnosed May 14 with cancer of the lungs, brain and bones. She immediately started radiation treatment, and when she saw that her hair was falling out, Beery first asked her older son, Chris, to neaten it up with a trim.
On May 20, Chris, who is in the Air Force, shipped out for his first tour of duty in Iraq.
Chris, 31, has already served one tour in Afghanistan. Will, 28, finished his six years in the Air Force in 2008 after one deployment in Afghanistan plus four in Iraq.
Their mother, fierce in her devotion to veterans, is a member of the Sequim VFW Ladies’ Auxiliary, and has just put her name on a fund to help vets and families affected by cancer.
The VFW Men’s Auxiliary, including president Bill Sutherland and treasurer Peter MacRae, will manage the Mary C. Beery Fund for Veterans with Cancer, established at US Bank. Donations can be made at any branch.
This is an ongoing fund, Sutherland said, adding that the men’s auxiliary has contributed $500.
Friday afternoon, she was eager to have Will get to work on her new look.
“I’m going to go bald anyhow,” she said, adding that with her first 10-day radiation course behind her, she’ll probably face more treatment.
Before, during and after the shaving, Beery smiled a brilliant smile, and then relished a kiss on the head from her friend Kathy Sutherland.
Will is headed back home Wednesday to Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where he works in the oil fields.
When asked what his plans were for Memorial Day weekend, Will said, “We’re just going to hang out with Mom.”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Reporter Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladaily news.com.
