As a volunteer in Ohio’s Hospice’s North Care Region, Beverly Wynkoop has an unwavering dedication for serving patients and families. 

She’s played Yahtzee in a patient’s nursing room home and slung around dominoes with another. Another patient asked to be taken outdoors, so Beverly took her to a local park. 

When one patient went home, Beverly still visited her. 

Wherever, whenever. That’s how Beverly operates and after logging nearly 400 volunteer hours in 2024, she was honored with the Kearney Award during the 2025 Volunteer Annual Recognition Dinner in Wooster, where more than 120 volunteers were honored.  

The award is named after Dr. Walter Kearney, who gave countless hours to the mission of LifeCare Hospice before it became part of Ohio’s Hospice, as a founder, a member and president of the board of directors. It is given to the volunteer who has put in the most time in the previous year, in an exceptionally excellent manner. 

That’s Beverly, who embodies the organization’s mission of Celebrating Life’s Stories^®. 

“I do what I do with hospice because it gives me great personal satisfaction and that has always been enough, but I guess when you win the Kearney Award then everybody else then knows what you do,” she said.  

When she’s not spending meaningful time with someone, Beverly – who has been volunteering for more than a dozen years – can be found in Ohio’s Hospice’s Wooster inpatient care facility greeting visitors at the welcome desk for three hours on Sundays. 

Like many volunteers in Wooster, Beverly also takes on jobs in other departments. 

“I worked in the kitchen, I’ve helped out in the laundry,” she said. “There’s always a job for you if you want one.” 

What produces the most cherished memories for Beverly is serving patients wherever they call home. 

One is a 98-year-old who loves to play Yahtzee, and “sometimes wins a lot,” Beverly said, adding that she now considers her a friend and not a patient. Another of her favorites was a patient who loved to play dominoes. She transitioned from the inpatient care unit back home but Beverly didn’t stop visiting. 

“How do you say, ‘I can’t come see you because you’re better,’” Beverly said. “I would go every couple weeks.” That patient went back to the inpatient unit and died soon after. 

A third impactful experience was with a patient who was in a nursing home but was mobile. Beverly took her to the store and would shop for her, among other tasks. 

“She liked to go to the park during the summer because she liked to have smoke breaks,” Beverly said. “She had lung cancer, but she knew that she was at a point in her life when smoking wasn’t going to make any difference. I just took her where she wanted to go to let her do what she wanted to do.” 

These types of interactions, along with being able to be part of a world class organization, keep Beverly one of the most active volunteers. 

“I really enjoy the work,” she said. “I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I do. You provide things that help make the person’s day better. And the inpatient staff in Wooster, they’re incredible people. I’m just amazed at how they do what they do.” 

Beverly came to hospice after an event at her local senior center piqued her interest. She began volunteering at a Wadsworth location. When that one closed, Beverly transitioned to Wooster. 

“I stayed with them because I think hospice is a wonderful thing,” Beverly said. “It does so much good for so many people. Many people have told me that they could not do what I do with hospice, but I usually say they might be surprised what they could do if they just gave it a try.” 

That’s what Beverly did.