Elizabeth Kohly

Elizabeth “Beth” Irene Buslinger Kohly

November 16, 1957 – October 1, 2026

Elizabeth Irene “Beth” Kohly lived her life centered on three things: God, family, and friends. She loved deeply, laughed easily, gave generously, and had a way of making the people around her feel cared for.

Born November 16, 1957, in Miami, Florida, to William and Betty Buslinger, Beth was a Miami girl through and through. She grew up alongside her siblings, Sue Buslinger-Clifford, David Buslinger, and Donald Buslinger, attended Coral Park High School, and later graduated from the University of Miami nursing school.

Beth became a labor and delivery nurse at Baptist Hospital, where she spent 15 years helping bring new life into the world. She loved the babies, but what she treasured just as much was caring for and teaching her patients. She once wrote that her patients were “like sponges” because they wanted to learn. Nursing suited a part of Beth that remained with her throughout her life: she genuinely wanted to help people.

Beth married Eugene “Gene” Kohly in November 1983, beginning a marriage and adventure that would span more than four decades. She was refreshingly candid about marriage. She never pretended that lasting love was effortless or perfect. In her own words:

“It’s a choice we make daily to walk side by side with your spouse through good times and especially hard times.”

She believed their marriage endured because they continued choosing one another and because Jesus remained at its center.

But if there was a role Beth treasured above all others, it was being a mother.

She was the mother of Chris, Michelle, and Marissa, and later the beloved grandmother of Matthew, Isaac, Ellie, Noah, and Logan, who knew her as Babi and Abi. When asked to name her greatest achievement, Beth didn’t hesitate: raising her family.

She understood something about motherhood that became more precious to her with the passing years. Her advice was simple:

“The moments pass by so quickly. Relax and try to soak it all in! What’s most important is spending time because children grow so fast and have to start lives of their own.”

That idea—time—appears again and again in Beth’s words. She knew that eventually the things that matter most aren’t things at all. They’re the ordinary moments spent with the people you love.

Beth certainly knew how to enjoy those moments.

She loved traveling, although she freely admitted she didn’t particularly enjoy “the getting there.” She loved Italy and Europe, Japan, Alaska, the mountains, the beach and long walks, and especially time at the family’s home in the Keys. Christmas in the Keys became one of those family traditions that will forever be associated with her.

Family vacations, according to Beth, were noisy, busy and fun, with the family somehow managing to “pack a lot into short times.”

Beth loved a celebration, but even more than attending one, she loved planning one. Birthdays, holidays, family gatherings and special occasions gave her another reason to bring together the people she loved. Perhaps nothing captured that part of Beth better than one of her final acts of love for Gene. Knowing that her own time might be short, Beth chose to skip what could have been one of her last birthday celebrations so she could instead put her energy into planning a surprise 70th birthday party for her husband. That was Beth: even when time was becoming increasingly precious, she found joy in using hers to make someone she loved feel special.

She loved to shop—and nobody who knew Beth would allow an obituary to leave that out. Purses, jewelry, clothes, shoes, books, things for the family: Beth checked them all when asked what she usually bought while shopping and then simply wrote, “That was easy!”

She loved decorating, reading in bed—sometimes nearly a book a week—Bible study, entertaining family and friends, and cooking her “world famous” meatloaf. She believed “kind words and great accessories” could make a woman feel beautiful. She loved a good nap. She loved University of Miami football. And despite the outgoing woman so many people knew, Beth revealed something surprising about herself:

“This loud person everyone knows as Beth is actually an introvert!”

Connecting with people sometimes required effort for her, but she believed the effort was worth making.

That says a great deal about Beth.

She wrote that something she had always been passionate about was being kind to others. For Beth, kindness didn’t have to be complicated. It meant taking a little time with someone, talking with them and showing genuine interest in their life. She said seeing the smile on someone’s face when you did that was “priceless.”

Beth’s Christian faith was not simply something she professed. It shaped how she understood her entire life.

When asked what had influenced her more than anything else, she answered:

“Becoming a Christian! It’s not a once and done process. It’s a call, yes, but growth takes a lifetime.”

She attended Bible studies, surrounded herself with Christian friends, prayed for her family, and tried to live what she believed. She was also humble enough to acknowledge that faith did not mean perfection. It meant continuing to grow.

Beth demonstrated extraordinary strength during more than two and a half years of living with pancreatic cancer. Through treatments, setbacks and increasingly difficult days, the qualities her family had always known in her remained: faith, determination, love and resilience. She fought hard, loved her family fiercely, and was surrounded by the people she loved.

Perhaps Beth herself provided the best ending to the story.

Near the end of the book in which she recorded memories and lessons from her life, she was given this prompt:

“If I could be sure that you learn just one thing from me, it would be:”

Of everything she could have written—after a lifetime as a daughter, sister, wife, nurse, mother, grandmother and friend—Beth chose this:

“God loves you so very much and desires relationship with each and every one of His children — ALL OF YOU.”

That was Beth.

She loved God.

She loved her family.

She loved her friends.

And she understood how quickly a lifetime passes.

So perhaps one of the best ways to honor Beth is to follow the lesson she discovered along the way: spend the time. Take the trip. Go shopping. Sit with someone. Ask about their life. Tell your family you love them. Choose love even when it isn’t easy. And don’t wait for someday.

Beth was the best mom a child could hope for, a deeply loved wife, grandmother, sister and friend. Her family will miss her beyond words, but the faith she shared, the traditions she created, the lessons she taught, and the love she gave will continue through generations.

And in Beth’s spirit, may we all recognize and cherish one of life’s greatest gifts:

the gift of time.

Family and friends are warmly invited to gather together in remembrance of Beth on Sunday, October 11, 2026, from 4:00–6:00 PM at:

Caballero Rivero Westchester

8200 Bird Road

Miami, FL 33155

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, November 14, 2026, at the family home on E-Lake, where we will come together to share memories, celebrate Beth’s life, and spend time with the people she loved most.

Additional details will follow.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly asks that donations be made in Beth’s memory to Spotlight Miami, 2334 Ponce de Leon, Suite 230, Coral Gables, FL 33134. www.spotlightmiami.org