Beverly Ann Brodsky (née Singer) passed away at home, surrounded by family, on Nov 4, 2022 at the age of 72. She is survived by her daughter, Lauren; her husband of 42 years, Bruce; and her sister, Ruth.

My mom was unique with a great sense of humor. She was sensitive, caring, creative, a deep thinker, and great writer. Bev was born June 23, 1950 in Philadelphia, PA to Florence and Lewis Singer. They were a non-religious Jewish family. Bev grew up bookish, serious, and extremely shy. She was close to her sister Ruth, a year older. And their father died when Bev was 17. In 1969, she protested the Vietnam War, attending the historic Moratorium March on Washington.

Later, Bev hitchhiked West to be part of the new hippie movement in LA, and lived in Venice Beach for a few years. At age 20, a transformative event happened when Bev was in a motorcycle accident in July 1970. She sustained a fractured skull and the damaged skin on her face shattered her self-image. After she returned home from the hospital, she was in deep despair, and had a near-death experience. Her account is written in many publications, including her friend, Dr. Kenneth Ring’s, 1998 book "Lessons from the Light." This event would fuel Beverly’s life-long fascination with spirituality, and she’d later devote 30 years of her life to running near-death groups on both the east and west coast.

Beverly returned to Philly in 1971 and lived with her mother. She later attended Vassar College and graduated at age 27, cum laude, with a BA in Psychology.

Though my mom was politically left, she found job security in the U.S. federal government under the DoD. She worked in civilian, federal jobs for 25 years in various Navy agencies. Bev and her mother worked at the Naval Aviation Supply Office (ASO), and so did Bruce Brodsky’s mother. In 1978, both their mothers set them up on a blind date.

In 1980 she married Bruce, and in 1982 they had their only daughter, Lauren.

My mom and I love animals and nature. I have good memories of us together going to: parks, the beach, nature events, and plays. Bev loved cats, but was allergic to them. Instead, since 1993, the Brodsky family always had pet chinchillas. She was mostly vegan, and we both loved Thai and Indian foods. Bev was also a lifelong learner and enjoyed taking classes, such as: singing, Tai Chi, and water aerobics.

A major part of Bev’s life was her involvement in various near-death groups. Since 1989, she was president of Delaware Valley Near-Death Studies, and held meetings in the basement. In 1998, the family relocated to San Diego, and Bev became the founder and president of the San Diego chapter of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS).

After retiring as a Systems Analyst in 2002, she was able to become more immersed in her passions. She was an educator, researcher, editor, and international speaker; featured in publications and documentaries. Beverly wrote on her LinkedIn profile: "My goal is to alleviate the fear of death, awaken people to their connection with a greater reality, and to provide community for those who have had a near-death or spiritually transformative experience." Bev was an IANDS group leader for over 20 years, organizing monthly meetings until her health failed in 2021.

My mom was an eloquent writer, and always wanted to write a book about her life and beliefs. Her progress was suddenly thwarted after a stroke in 2007, where she had to learn to write and type again. Bev worked on her book through the years, but, unfortunately, never finished.

I wasn’t involved with my mom’s groups. But when she passed away, several people contacted me from the various communities she was involved in, warmly remembering her friendship. They noted her humor, passion, intellect, and how helpful and compassionate she was.

In 2019, we learned that Bev had breast cancer. During her last 3 years, she had monthly IV infusions, which shrunk the tumor and kept her cancer stable. It turned out this wasn’t as fatal as the neurological disease we’d later learn she had. For several years, Bev wasn’t walking well and spoke softly; sometimes having trouble finding words. By late 2021, she had more trouble communicating and clearly had dementia.

In April 2022, Beverly was diagnosed with a rare form of dementia called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), which affects movement and cognition. It's sad the disease took away her ability to speak, since she was always an eloquent wordsmith and spoke her mind.

Her husband, Bruce, took care of Bev alone, until she needed 24/7 care. He hired caregivers during her last 3 months. My dad was determined to keep her at home, and I'm sure my mom would have been proud of the wonderful job he did. I was also very involved with her care and spent Mom’s last three nights beside her. Bev was on home hospice for a month. Luckily she declined very quickly, so she didn't suffer too long.

Bruce could always make Beverly laugh, even at late stage dementia. Her last interaction, before becoming unresponsive, was laughing at something my dad said. Bruce took care of Bev every step of the way: through her strokes, breast cancer, hip surgery, then debilitating dementia. They were married for 42 years.

Beverly took her last breath while Bruce, Lauren, and her sister, Ruth, were in the room. She was cremated and we had a private family service. Though I’m agnostic, I do hope Mom returned to the place she visited when she was young. We love you.

I’ll end with a quote that Mom wrote in her friend Ken Ring’s book, Lessons from the Light:

“For those who grieve or fear, I assure you of this: There is no death, nor does love ever end. And remember also that we are aspects of the one perfect whole, and as such are part of God, and of each other. Someday you who are reading this and I will be together in light, love, and unending bliss.”

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