Those who knew Beth Mahn best characterized her as “the ultimate public servant.”
She was elected to nine consecutive terms as Jefferson County collector.
“I got elected after she did and worked directly with her for many years,” former County Assessor Randy Holman said. “She was always early, stayed late, was very well-organized and on time with billing. She was a great example of what leadership is.”
“She was collector in the years when the county almost doubled in size,” former Missouri State Sen. Bill McKenna said. “And I can’t recall anything I ever heard or read that she didn’t do right.”
Mahn died April 30 at 67 of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
She graduated from Cor Jesu High School and Jefferson College before going to work at a bank in Eureka.
“In the early 1980s, (Jefferson County) Treasurer Ernie Gilbert recruited her to work as his assistant,” said Mike Burch, her husband of 33 years. “Ernie encouraged her to run for collector when Earl Toulouse retired after 30-some years. He thought she’d be a good fit.”
One of seven candidates in the 1986 Democratic primary, she got 46 percent of the votes and went on to easily beat the Republican candidate in the general election.
“She was reelected unopposed eight times,” Burch said. “She was the last Democratic office holder voted in in the county. It just goes to show how good a job she did.”
Holman served on the Missouri Tax Commission and attended collectors conferences along with Mahn.
“She was always so well prepared,” he said. “She wouldn’t just come and say, ‘We want to do this’ – she came with data and explanations and resources. She was very instrumental in developing a handbook for collectors, and she was responsible for numerous pieces of legislation to make the tax process more fair for taxpayers.”
Michelle Worth was Mahn’s deputy for 10 years before taking over in 2020 when she retired.
“She was not just my boss but my mentor and my friend,” Worth said. “When she walked in a room, people respected her because of how poised and competent she was and all the knowledge she had. She had seasonal employees who would come back every year because they loved working in that office. Many ended up full-time employees, and that speaks to how she ran the office.”
Worth said Mahn was forward-thinking.
“When she started, all the records were kept on cards,” Worth said. “The first thing she did was get them onto a computer. She was always interested in new technology that can make your processes better.
“Where she brought this office in the 30 years she worked here is amazing.”
Mahn made it a point to be accessible to her constituents.
“She had her name and home number in the phone book,” her husband said. “I don’t think you’ll find too many officeholders like that. Even when everybody got cell phones, she wouldn’t eliminate the house phone. She said, ‘I want people to be able to find me.’”
Mahn met her husband in a pickup wallyball game, and the two were married in 1989.
“She was campaigning, and we didn’t want to try to get Beth Burch elected when nobody knew who that was,” Burch said. “So she kept her name.”
Mahn was an athlete, enjoying water skiing, swimming, volleyball and more.
“And she was extremely good at golf,” Burch said. “There’d be these four-person scramble tournaments, and everybody wanted her on their team.”
She established an instant rapport with Burch’s two young daughters, and the couple soon welcomed another daughter.
“She was a lot better mother than I was a father,” he joked. “She was the calming voice. And she was real encouraging of the girls, wanting them to try different things.”
Burch started a sports and novelties company in the early 2000s, and the couple enjoyed going to sporting events and celebrations around the area.
“She would model for me, because she was really beautiful,” Burch said. “She loved to party and made friends easily. She really helped the business, and we just had a blast with that.”
The couple loved to travel, especially spontaneous trips.
“We’d be talking at 4 in the afternoon about wanting to have beignets and by 5 o’clock we were on the road to New Orleans,” Burch said. “That’s what I loved; you didn’t have to plan six months out; it was just, ‘Let’s go,’ no reservations anywhere.”
Mahn didn’t always need to leave the area to relax.
“We added a deck on our house, and when she came home from work, that was her getaway zone,” Burch said. “It let her unwind, and I know how important that was to her.”
Mahn was diagnosed in 2019 with ALS.
“The doctor came in and asked us 20 questions, and we said ‘yes’ to about 19 of them,” Burch said. “The doctor said, real matter-of-factly, ‘You have ALS and this is what we’re going to do for you.’”
The disease is characterized by periods when symptoms don’t advance, then sudden worsening.
“Some of her plateaus were long, some short. She went from walking around to needing help with everything,” Burch said. “For a while it was OK. Then, in the last six weeks or so, we had someone in to help. She was proud, and she didn’t want anyone – even her daughters – to see how bad her body was.”
Mahn died at home surrounded by family.
“I didn’t want to let go,” Burch said, his voice choked with emotion. “But everyone said it was time.”
Burch said his wife is remembered for her caring and compassionate nature.
“She was everything I’m not – that’s probably why we worked so well together,” he said. “She was concerned about everyone, not selfish at all. Her needs always came last.
“We just had a great life together.”
“Life Story,” posted Saturdays on Leader Publications’ website, focuses on one individual’s impact on his or her community.