Beverly J Gilmore

Beverly J Gilmore, 92, died November 13, 2025 in Jacksonville, Florida. She came to Florida from the Michigan north for warmth and light, finding that and the love of her life, husband Roger Fox.

Beverly was an award-winning syndicated journalist, restorer of historical houses, boutique owner, lover of golden retrievers, a fan of the Weavers and all things Pete Seeger, and mother of three.

Born March 7, 1933, in Monroe, Michigan, to James B. and Verna L. Gilmore, Beverly spent her early years skating the River Raisin and making mischief with her sister Barbara, younger brother Jimmy, and older brother Drexel. She was a fine ice skater.

At Monroe High School she enjoyed the company of classmate Roger Fox. Graduation separated them, but not forever. She graduated second in her class (the only “second” of her 92 years). While in high school, Beverly worked at J C Penney, becoming a proud lifetime member of the International Ladies' Garment Workers’ Union.

Beverly earned degrees in journalism at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. Her M.A. featured a breakthrough interview of poet Ezra Pound. Wisconsin also made Beverly a lifelong Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers fan.

Ms. Gilmore married fellow student Richard Loftus, and the two had a son. Travel ensued, including trans-Atlantic voyages and a two-year stay in Dublin, Ireland. Poetry of W. B. Yeats and Irish landscape mysteries flavored those days.

The marriage ended, however, and in her early 30s Beverly and her son moved to 1960s Greenwich Village. She reviewed books for Library Journal. She married Irving Pearlman, an artist and textile designer. A daughter and second son followed. The family soon traded concrete for clapboard, moving to Staten Island, New York, where Beverly at once began transforming neglected historical homes into dazzling restorations.

In the 1970s and 1980s Beverly was a reporter and editor at the Staten Island Advance newspaper. She won multiple national writing and editing awards. Highlights included her interview of Roy Rogers (riding horseback together in Central Park), dinner with the Shah of Iran, and a working trip through Fidel Castro’s Cuba. There were many more.

While at the newspaper, Beverly married colleague Robert Huber. In the course of 10 years together they restored two historic homes and helped further a cultural revival of Staten Island’s North Shore.

Having “made it there” but single once more, Beverly left New York for Glen Arbor, Michigan. With her sister Barbara, she opened Glen Arbor City Limits, an upscale boutique featuring Native American art, readings by Michigan writers (Jim Harrison, for one), and clothing that spoke to northern style and weather. As the mood struck, she wrote pieces for magazines and newspapers.

Then Beverly’s story turned full circle. She connected with high school sweetheart Roger Fox, by then a retired NASA supervisor and technical writer. The two married in 2009 and shared a home in Traverse City, Michigan. When snow and cold had its say, off they went on Roger’s Gold Wing Honda motorcycle, destination Tampa, Florida. There they lived happily for many years. After Roger died in 2022, Beverly moved to Jacksonville, Florida.

Beverly was proud of her children. Her first son, Richard Gilmore Loftus, contributed to early automation of Wall Street, and now works in local politics and writes poetry. Her daughter, Líadainn Gilmore, conducts a successful counseling and therapy practice. Her second son, Nicholas E.D. Gilmore, is a United States Coast Guard Commander and diplomat.

In addition to her children, Beverly is survived by her sister Barbara (Gilmore) Weber, of Northport, Michigan; five grandchildren (Emma (Gilmore) Palmer; and Madeleine, Reilly, Ian, and Leif—all Gilmores); as well as numerous nieces and nephews. She was preceded in death by older brother Drexel Journey; younger brother James Gilmore; and the love of her life, Roger Fox. As Beverly once noted of her time with Roger, “Life happens in strange and wonderful ways.”

Hardage-Giddens Greenlawn Funeral Home and Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida, is overseeing arrangements. Following cremation, a celebration of life will be held at a future date. For those who wish to, donations can be made to the American Civil Liberties Union in Beverly J Gilmore’s name, or to a charity of choice.