M. Beven Eckert was born April 24, 1914, in Washington, D. C. where her family lived temporarily. She attended Catholic and public schools in Richmond, VA, and was raised in the disciplines and traditions of Southern womanhood. She was a uniquely outgoing and caring individual, able to find something special about everyone she met.

Family finances required Beven and her sister to work for an insurance company immediately after high school graduation. Although an avid reader since childhood, she turned to books for the higher education she felt she had been denied. Her greatest love was books--she was never without one. Beven thought that everyone should share in the pleasures that reading could bring.

During World War II, she went to Miami, Florida to work for Pan American Airways. There she met pilot Richard Eckert, whose roots ran deep in Mason County. They married June 5, 1946.

Having no children of her own, Beven lavished love and attention on children of all ages, races and circumstances. Teenagers came to her for counseling and her young married friends would often seek her advice for their problems.

During her lifetime, Beven was active in the Red Cross, Heart Association, Cancer Society, professional organizations, and Lutheran Church. She and Richard spent many happy times in Mason with friends and family. She died May 7, 1983. Beven Eckert's portrait hangs in the adult reading section of the Library.