Beverly “Bev” Bowman Chiarella, 89, of Weeki Wachee, Fla., and formerly of Rutland, Vt., passed away at Sturgill Hospice House in Brooksville, Fla., from natural causes on September 24, 2025. Bev, the valedictorian of Watertown (Mass.) High School, class of 1953, was also an alumna of Russell Sage College in Troy, N.Y., class of 1957. Bev completed a BS in medical technology and excelled in helping the most vulnerable patients.
She had a lifelong zest for education and learning, with a desire to achieve as a businesswoman. Bev was co-owner of family pharmacies in Rutland (Shangraw’s Pharmacy and Town House Pharmacy) and Kinderhook, N.Y. (Kinderhook Pharmacy).
Bev’s dedication to excellence, along with her ability to multitask and prioritize efficiently, made her an unstoppable dynamo. Bev spoke her mind freely and had the courage of her convictions. She had the uncanny ability to bring out the absolute best in others. Even at her busiest, Bev took the time to lend support with carefully chosen, wise words and a gentle tone. Occasionally, as she’d readily admit (often with a laugh), Bev could be a bit blunt but softened up with her very next sentence.
Bev’s unwavering presence created a positive ripple effect in countless lives. She was a person of many talents. An accomplished cook, baker, hostess and seamstress, she often created beautiful clothes. Bev painted a room like a professional and had a keen eye for interior decorating and (always symmetrical) design. She could identify a classic car at 50 yards and packed a dishwasher like nobody’s business. Musically, Bev lent her beautiful alto voice to many performances of Handel’s Messiah with Rutland’s Grace Congregational Church choir.
Bev filled many roles: devoted wife and business partner, mother, daughter, grandmother, coworker, and friend. In later years, she relished the nickname “Rockstar,” given by her filmmaker son-in-law, Jim. Bev was featured in a documentary about the Bennington, Vt., to Chatham, N.Y., “Corkscrew Subdivision” of the now defunct Rutland Railway.
Walter P. Bowman and Olean S. “Lee” (Schook) Bowman became proud parents of Beverly Kathryn on March 25, 1936. Bev grew up predominantly in Columbia County, N.Y., surrounded by loving extended family, including grandparents, aunts, uncles and many cousins. She loved animals, including Irish setters Penny and Tessie. The family settled in Canaan, N.Y. Bev also leaves pieces of her heart in Chatham, Kinderhook and Rochester, N.Y.; Watertown, Mass.; Rutland Vt.; Littleton and Evergreen, Colo.; and Weeki Wachee, Fla.
In addition to her parents, Bev was predeceased by brother John Oliver Bowman and her own infant sons, Joseph Chiarella and Peter Samuel Chiarella. Bev leaves 68 years of wonderful memories with her loving husband, Samuel Chiarella, whom Bev met on a blind date to a Sadie Hawkins Dance. Who knew the casual toss of a train pass would change her life? Bev is also survived by daughters Marilee C. Jones and her husband, James R. “Jim” Jones, of Colchester, Vt.; Anne C. Marx of Parker, Colo., and her partner, Richard Brenner; and “D3” Jennifer A. Hart of Rutland, Vt. Bev took special pride in her grandchildren: Dr. Chiara M. Evans and her husband, Troy Sun, and Samuel R. Evans and his partner, Dr. Antoinette Acbo.
The family thanks Dr. Walter Szydlowski; the staff at Oak Hill Hospital; Bev’s “sister” Linda; the trio of Dee, Ron and Scott for help around the Chiarella home; Sturgill Hospice House; and Brad Hart of Tossing Funeral Home, Rutland, Vt.
In this next chapter of Bev’s rewarding life, she brightens Heaven with her own brand of grit and grace. We’ll remember Bev at the sound of a train whistle, the sight of periwinkle blue and the smell of Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass perfume.
A graveside service is planned at Canaan Cemetery, 1354 County Route 5, Canaan, N.Y.