Hailey, Beverly Boyd Haskins
Beverly Boyd Haskins Hailey, or B2H2 as she often signed herself, passed away peacefully on Sunday, February 8, 2015 at the age of 90.A longtime Lynchburg resident, Beverly Hailey was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in 1925. After graduating from Reynolds High School, she attended Salem College before transferring to DePauw University where she met Bob Hailey, the love of her life, whom she married in 1947. They moved to Lynchburg the next year when Bob, later affectionately known as ‘Doc,’ was hired to teach drama and English literature at Lynchburg College.Beverly and Doc, who predeceased her in 1998, shared a vibrant interest in music, theatre, and art, as well as in entertaining. Indeed, gracious hospitality was Bev’s specialty; she opened her Rivermont Avenue home, known as the “Hailey Hilton,” to generations of LC students and friends for all manner of parties and gatherings — birthdays, weddings, christenings, holidays — and sometimes for more extended stays.During World War II, Bev worked for the Office of Flying Safety and then for a trucking firm headed by ‘Pop’ Wisecup, whose salty-tongued expressions she could imitate to hilarious effect. In Lynchburg she served for several years as a social worker for the Florence Crittenton Home. Beverly then embarked upon her dream career as a kindergarten teacher at R.S. Payne Elementary School, where for 17 years she ran her classroom with her own particular blend of creativity, enthusiasm, and kindness. She used to say that if your kindergarten teacher didn’t love you, no one would, and she always found something to love in each and every one of her students. After her retirement from Lynchburg City Schools, Beverly enjoyed working at Little Dickens, where she used her considerable expertise with young children to help customers find the perfect book, game, or activity, no matter what the occasion.Beverly’s greatest role, though, was as the best mom ever. She adored nothing more than spending time with her children and their friends; her door was always open, and she had the rare gift of making everyone feel welcome. As an only child who had lost her father when she was ten, Beverly made certain that childhood was a special, even magical time for her five children and, eventually, her seven grandchildren. Loving, nurturing, and always encouraging, she infused her family with an infectious joie de vivre that transformed even everyday events into celebrations. Pancakes might have faces; dinner might be color themed; a milk mug might have a prize in the bottom. She especially loved birthdays and holidays, taking a great delight in the often-elaborate details of costumes, menus, and decorations. For birthdays, one might get a “jungle breakfast,” where cereal and juice boxes, doughnuts, and of course bananas could be found hanging from the trees in the yard. In fact, for Beverly there were not quite enough holidays in the year, so she also included ‘half-birthdays,’ celebrated with half of a birthday card, half a cake, and a half-decent present.But her favorite holiday of all was Christmas, which she loved to celebrate with the Moravian symbols and traditions of her childhood. She always enjoyed Moravian cookies and the ‘love feast’ services at the Home Moravian Church in Winston-Salem. The gently glowing Moravian star continues to seasonally decorate the front porch of our family home.For the last nine years, Beverly lived at The Oaks, where despite the progressive dementia that stole so many of her memories, her ready wit and cheerful disposition charmed residents and staff alike. A lifelong lover of music who by her own admission “couldn’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Beverly was nonetheless singing her favorite Big Band songs up until the end.Beverly is survived by her five children and their spouses: Carter and Lanaux Hailey, Bev and Tim Campbell, Tom and Elaine Hailey, Chris Hailey and Ann Brown-Hailey, and Lavinia and Grattan Garbee; her seven grand children (and spouses/partners): Colin and Joanna Campbell, Claire Campbell, Ella Hailey and Curtis Bonwell, Blair Hailey, Will Hailey, Hailey and Thomas Bradley Garbee-Coles, and Ally Garbee; and one exceptionally great grandchild: Theodore Rex Stone (bouncing baby boy of Ella and Curtis).We will celebrate her life with a service at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 1 p.m. on Friday, February 13, 2015. Please join us.In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to your favorite charity in her name, or simply do something kind for someone who needs it. That will best honor her spirit
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