Beverly J. Van Brunt

Beverly Jean Van Brunt passed away peacefully on December 31, 2022. Beverly began her life journey in the small town of McAdoo, PA on March 24, 1943, a coal town 5 miles south of Hazelton, PA. She grew up and attended school in Linden, NJ. There she met friends that she kept for the next 60 years.

For most of her adult life, Beverly was the owner of Penguin Italian Ices, located in Elizabeth, NJ. With her ready smile and generous spirit, Beverly attracted friends far and wide who remember her as loving, kind, and caring. Early in her adult life she discovered a love of travel frequenting St. John in the USVI. It quickly turned into her paradise and became a place she brought her children to year after year as they grew up. Later, she began traveling with her close friends to places such as France, Costa Rica, and Portugal. She fulfilled a lifelong dream of attending cooking school in Italy. Whether it be coordinating a church bazaar or stealing bar signs during the wee hours on far flung islands, Beverly was always known to be a well-loved person to be around.

She leaves behind her three children: Susan (Van Brunt) Granger and Fitz, Nicole (Van Brunt) Allington and James, and Chris Van Brunt and Lisa. She also leaves behind her eight grandchildren: Will, Cooper, Annie, Avery, Evangeline, Auden, Riley and Tyler. Also surviving are her siblings, Harry Moore, Jimmy Moore, and Sharon Smith.

Visitation will be at 10:00AM on January 16, 2023, followed by a funeral service at 11:00AM. Both will be held at Gray Memorial Funeral Home, 12 Springfield Avenue, Cranford, NJ 07016.

Flowers are welcome as are donations made in her honor to Friends of Virgin Islands National Park (friendsvinp.org).