NEW SCOTLAND — Beverly Jean Nash, a former Voorheesville clerk-treasurer who became a chef and, later, a special education teacher, died on Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, in Lilburn, Georgia. She was 88.

“Beverly was a woman of many talents and gifts, with a voice as beautiful as her spirit,” her family wrote in a tribute.

Mrs. Nash was born in Brooklyn on Aug. 19, 1927, to James W. and Clara J. Delaney. She married “the love of her life,” James Nash, her family wrote. The couple wed in 1971.

She served as Voorheesville’s clerk-treasurer for 20 years.

“She believed in hard work — if you wanted it, you earned it,” her daughter, June Springer, said. “She led by example.”

Mrs. Nash raised five daughters on her own, working both as the village clerk-treasurer and as a part-time waitress, Mrs. Springer said.

“I was raised by the village. We lived on Main Street. We knew everybody, and everybody knew us,” she said.

As a clerk-treasurer, Mrs. Nash earned several certifications, Mrs. Springer said, and was “one of the first women in the field.”

Mrs. Nash taught her family “not to worry about what you’re doing, if you want to do it,” Mrs. Springer said.

“She was the most honest person I’ve ever known,” she said.

Mrs. Nash and her husband opened The Heavenly Inn restaurant in the hamlet of New Scotland, while Mrs. Nash continued as clerk-treasurer for four years. The couple operated the restaurant for 15 years.

Mr. and Mrs. Nash then sold their restaurant and moved to a house on the Hudson River in Stuyvesant (Columbia Co.). From there, Mrs. Nash commuted to Hyde Park, where she later graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park (Dutchess Co.).

“My mom was a real strong believer in education. She was a believer in lifelong education,” Mrs. Springer said.

“Beverly was an accomplished woman,” her family wrote. “Through her membership with the American Culinary Association, she became a certified executive chef.”

Mr. and Mrs. Nash relocated to the island city of Folly Beach, South Carolina, where she shared her art of cooking in local restaurants, her family wrote.

When Mrs. Nash was old enough, she took advantage of South Carolina’s free-tuition program for senior citizens, earning a bachelor’s degree in education from the College of Charleston, her daughter said. She taught special education in the Charleston public schools for seven years, retiring in her 70s.

“She loved to sing. She had one of the sweetest voices I’ve ever known,” Mrs. Springer said. “She sang in the choir in South Carolina. She’d be there every Sunday, singing. She taught us girls how to sing and dance.

“She always sang,” Mrs. Springer continued. Mrs. Nash, at the end of her life, had Alzheimer’s disease, but, in moments of clarity, would sing “Amazing Grace,” her daughter said.

“She always believed in the good of people, and that tomorrow is another day,” Mrs. Springer said. “She had a strong faith in God, and a strong faith in ‘it’s going to work out.’ She lived like that.”

Mrs. Nash’s family will meet together in Folly Beach this Thanksgiving, Mrs. Springer said.

“Folly Beach, to her, was the place we all gathered,” Mrs. Springer said. “So many of the grandchildren went on family vacations on the beach. Thanksgiving was her favorite holiday.”

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Beverly Jean Nash is survived by her husband, James H. Nash, of Lilburn, Georgia; her daughters, Sharon Hambly, of Aurora, Ontario, Canada; Doreen Waite and her husband, Richard, of Pittsfield, Maine; Irene Brimberry, of Lilburn; Diane Howard, of Chester, Virginia; Mary-Jean Riley and William Hauf, of Altamont; and June Springer and her husband, Kenneth, of Berne; her brother, James W. Delaney, of Conway, South Carolina; and many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Nash’s parents died before her, as did her daughter, Janis L. Delehanty; her two grandsons, Kenneth “Kidder” E. Springer Jr. and John B. Springer; her sister, Ethel C. Foley; and her sons-in-law, William P. Riley and Jerry L. Brimberry.

“The family would like to express its endless gratitude to Beverly's caretakers, Tasha; Lisa; Lisa Marie; and the staff of Embracing Hospice, of Lilburn,” her family wrote.

A memorial service will be held on Friday, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, 106 W. Erie Avenue, Folly Beach, South Carolina, 29439.

Arrangements are by McAlister-Smith Funeral Home West Ashley Chapel, 2051 Bees Ferry Rd., Charleston, South Carolina, 29414, at 843-722-8371.

Online condolences may be made at www.mcalister-smith.com.
— Jo E. Prout