Beverly Beach

Beverly Beach passed away on September 11, 2024 at Cayuga Nursing & Rehabilitation Center.

Beverly was born on Dec 30, 1933 in Fond du Lac, WI to Lucille and Money Toussaint and spent her early childhood in Ripon, WI before her family moved to Algonquin, IL.  After graduating from Dundee Community High School in 1951, Beverly began college at the University of Illinois. She never lost her connection with her high school friends and exchanged cards and letters throughout her life.  She even managed to get to her 50th reunion while the airports were shut down a few days after the 9/11 attacks by taking a bus from Morgantown, WV to Illinois.  She also played oboe in both band and orchestra, becoming a rare marching oboe.  She was good enough to compete in the Illinois All-State competition.

While in college Beverly met her first husband, Mort Rovelstad, marrying him in 1953.  He graduated that year and took a job in San Diego, CA.  Beverly completed her degree in Education at the University of San Diego.  Mort then enlisted in the Army, and he and Beverly moved to NJ while he was in the service.  They were able to enjoy many of the Broadway musicals of the day and collected a few unusual original cast albums.

They moved briefly to Fort Wayne, IN, staying long enough to have their first daughter, Amy, before moving to Minneapolis, MN and then Ann Arbor, MI where their second daughter, Connie, was born.  The family then moved to NJ before returning to Ann Arbor, where Beverly received a M. Ed from the University of Michigan and Mort got his PhD.  Once the children were old enough, Beverly returned to full-time elementary school teaching, beginning a long career of instructing the late elementary school grades.  The family then moved to Morgantown, WV where Beverly continued her teaching.

In the late ’70’s Beverly and Mort divorced.  Bev met Jim Wallis, a WWII veteran from Kent, England and they married in the early ’80’s.  They had a lot of fun together, traveling back to England and to other parts of Europe as well as the US, thus indulging Beverly’s travel bug.  After his death and Beverly’s retirement in 1997, Beverly began a long stretch of taking classes for fun, as well as educational travel through Elder Hostel.  She had such varied experiences as staying at a fishing camp in Alaska and enjoying a historical trip through Florence, Italy.

At some point she tired of the snow and clouds of WV and moved to Inverness, FL where she met and married Ira Beach, another WWII veteran.  They continued Beverly’s travel adventures, and finally completed her goal of visiting all 50 states.  As a result of the marriage, Beverly met Ira’s daughters Sue Ransbottom, Diane Potgeter, and Gail Beach.  The new family got along famously, and maintained close contact for the rest of Beverly’s life.

Finally, Beverly and Ira relocated to Ithaca in order to be near Bev’s elder daughter, Amy.  While here they lived for several years at Horizon Villages, where they became friends with a number of neighbors and continued to participate in various classes.  They finally moved to Longview.  After several years there, Ira passed away in 2023. This year Beverly’s health began to decline, and she passed away of natural causes.

Beverly enjoyed cozy murder mysteries, PBS, flower gardens, and bird watching. The goldfinches of Longview will miss her.

Beverly is survived by her daughters Amy Rovelstad and Connie Chatelain-Rovelstad, and their spouses Sue Schiefelbein and Sally Chatelain-Rovelstad.  She is also survived by her stepdaughters Sue, Diane, and Gail, her brother Brian Toussaint, and numerous nieces and nephews.  Burial took place at Greensprings Natural Cemetery in Newfield, NY.