Beverly "Bev" Elaine Gilbert Baird Cauley.

 

January 29, 1929 - March 9, 2021
Rest in peace, Ma...

LATER: this just popped up in my Facebook feed from March 15, 2009. Turns out she was 12 years too soon!

Pre-Demise Birthday Party.

My mother recently turned 80, right around the time that her older sister passed away. Since I couldn't be there, she finally described the birthday celebration to me, a few days ago.

Ma likes to arrange things in advance, and evidently she's been planning her funeral festivities for a couple of years. One of her big pleasures in life is setting up and attending small dinner parties, so she wanted her friends to enjoy one final dinner party, following her eventual memorial service.

But while contemplating the inevitable approach of her Big One Way Journey and busily planning for it, Ma decided that she didn't want to miss the fun.

So to mark the occasion of her 80th birthday, she hosted a dinner party for her friends, calling it her "Pre-Demise Birthday Party."

Ma is pretty darn healthy these days, so I have the feeling this will become an annual event that she will enjoy for many years to come.

OBITUARY: http://legacy.com/link.asp?i=ls198145078
Beverly Cauley
Beverly "Bev" Elaine Gilbert Baird Cauley, 92, of Henderson Nevada and Ocala Florida, passed away peacefully March 9, 2021, surrounded by loved ones. Bev was born and grew up in Oakland, Maine, daughter of Ronald W. and Thena Sullivan Gilbert. After graduating from Williams High School she went to work at BFD Factory unit until her marriage to Chester "Chet" Baird. She and her husband ran Gilbert's Market in Oakland, and brought their first son, Alan, into this world. Bev followed her husband to Bangor, Maine and then Chelmsford, Massachusetts where they had their second son, Christopher. From there they moved to Charleston, West Virginia and eventually back to Chelmsford. At this time Bev enrolled at the local university and received a degree in home economics. She taught home economics in the Chelmsford area for a brief time and then she and her husband moved back to Charleston where she then enrolled in the University of Charleston and received her Master's Degree in Special Education. She taught in the special education department of the Charleston Public Schools for a number of years, receiving many plaudits from parents, staff and administration alike. After losing Chet, the love of her life, to a massive heart attack, she eventually moved to Ocala, Florida. Beverly had many interests, one of them was sharing her culinary skills with her many friends and family in Ocala. She too enjoyed sewing and made many of her own clothes. She also loved to dabble in the stock market and did so with great success. Bev was a staunch Republican, worked hard for the Republican party, and even held an office in her local party. Bev & Chet had planned to see the world upon retirement and she decided to do just that, even with the loss of her husband. She saw the great pyramids of Egypt, went down under to see the Great Barrier Reef, saw the Galapagos Islands, pretty much the entire European continent, parts of Asia, Great Britain and of course the USA. She did many of her trips via bicycle in Elderhostels. However, she always returned to her Oakland, Maine roots in the summer, to visit her family, friends and her dear friend Selma, and to attend her class reunion for the class of 1946 Williams High School. Five years ago, she met and married John Cauley, and they traveled within the USA until her heart condition continued to slow her down. A year ago, she moved to Henderson to be near her son Christopher, and his wife, Jane. Soon after her move she took a fall and had to enter a care facility. Unfortunately, because of COVID restrictions, Bev was unable to be with her family during a very difficult time. She is survived by her 2 sons, Alan & his wife and Christopher and his wife, 2 sisters, Natalie Vogler and Sherry Gilbert, her 2nd husband, John Cauley, and many nieces, nephews and cousins. She was predeceased by her parents Ronald & Thena Gilbert, her 1st husband Chet Baird, her sister Kay Bacon and her brother Terry Gilbert. A service will be celebrated at a later date in Maine. In lieu of flowers donations may be made in memory of Beverly to Queen of Peace Catholic Church, 6455 SW State Rd 200, Ocala, FL 34476, or the American Heart Association National Center, 7272 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231.
Published in Ocala Star-Banner from Mar. 24 to Mar. 26, 2021.
Published in Morning Sentinel on March 26, 2021.