Long-time Chester resident, Elton Rutherford Beverly died after a brief illness at CJW hospital on April 29, with his wife by his side.
In the late 1970s Elton Rutherford Beverly was not only a fan of the arts, but especially the performing arts. He was active with the John Rolfe Players, a local theatre group, based in Chester. He recently contributed funds to the building of the Chesterfield Center for the Arts and purchased a seat that is inscribed JRP Member & Actor.
He was an avid supporter of the Chesterfield Center for the Arts and served on its board of directors for a number of years. The project is about to come to fruition and its completion was the culmination of one of his dreams.
His community support did not stop there. The Chester Public Library is named his honor due to his many efforts on behalf of the Chesterfield County Libraries, Elton was responsible for spearheading funding, overseeing design and construction of the 1966 library on Harrowgate Road, now a police outpost.
The Library was named after Beverly on October 29, 2001.
Elton was born in Colorado and received his Masters of Science in Chemical Engineering at Iowa University. A veteran of WWII Elton worked at Allied Chemical (Honeywell) for 45 years.
His contributions are formidable including a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the United States Postal Service, Treasurer of the Chesterfield Red Cross and the Chesterfield County Public Library Board of Trustees among his other accomplishments.
Elton was married to Betty Moore Beverly.
A memoriam for Elton will take place at the Chester Prebyterian Church on May 6 at 3 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, his family wishes that donations be made to the Chester Presbyterian Church or the Chesterfield Center for the Arts Foundation.
