In Memory of Beverly Bumbaugh (1936 – 2019)

Picture of he Rev. Beverly BumbaughThe Rev. Beverly A. Bumbaugh died on February 14, 2019 at the age of 82.

Beverly was born on May 2, 1936 in Hagerstown, MD to Paul L. Keplinger and Thelma A. Keplinger. She graduated from the Wilmington College, OH in 1958 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. In 1981, Beverly completed her independent study of UU Ministry under guidance of the Ministerial Education Committee of the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, VA.

Rev. Bumbaugh was ordained on January 22, 1978 by the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church in Alexandria, VA where she carried out her first ministry from 1977. In the year 1982, she was called to the UU Fellowship at Easton, MD; Rev. Bumbaugh simultaneously executed her parish ministry at these two congregations until 1984. In 1986, she accepted a call from the East Shore UU Church in Kirtland, OH where she would serve as an interim minister until 1987. Then, over the next decade, Rev. Bumbaugh carried out a series of vital interim and called ministries, at the following congregations: the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockland, NY (1987-1991); the Muttontown UU Fellowship, NY (1992); the UU Church of the Lehigh Valley, PA (1992-1993); the South Nassau UU Congregation, NY (1994-1995); and finally at the Beacon UU Congregation in Summit, NJ (1995-1998) as the first woman minister. Upon her retirement in 1998, the Beacon congregation elected her their Minister Emeritus.

Rev. Bumbaugh carried out a great deal of service on behalf of the denomination. She functioned as a Secretary for the Greater Washington Religious UU Professionals from 1979 to 1981; as a workshop leader for the RE Conferences for Greater Washington Area, Joseph Priestly District and the UU Fellowship for Social Justice in 1979, and for the YRUU conference in 1983. She was Secretary for the Metro NY UUMA from 1988 to 1991. Rev. Bumbaugh also served the Unitarian Universalist Mid-Atlantic Community under various position: as a workshop presenter from 1990 to 1993, as a board member from 1990 to 1992, and as a music director in 1992.

Beyond her ministry, Beverly was socially active throughout her life. She served as a member of the Specific Learning Disability Board (1985-1986); the Religious Advisory Committee (1990-1991); the Planned Parenthood of Westchester and Rockland counties in NY (1990-1991); and the Freeport Interfaith Clergy (1994). Furthermore, she served as an occasional adjunct professor for the Meadville Lombard Theological school. She also had several of her writings published some of which include, Angels and Experiments (1974) published in the Journal of the Liberal Ministry; and Judith Sargent Murray Speaking (1985) published by the Murray Grove Association. In her spare time, Beverly enjoyed choral singing, playing the pipe organ, piano and autoharp; and participating in amateur dramatics. She also loved sewing, quilting and wall-papering.

Beverly is survived by her spouse Rev. David E. Bumbaugh; her children Mark Bumbaugh, Geoffrey Bumbaugh, Stephen Bumbaugh, and Julia Bumbaugh-Shah; her grandsons Salif and Stefan Bumbaugh, Zander and Griffen Shah; and her siblings Janet Keplinger Cyzyk, Alice Keplinger Kinch, Mary Lou Keplinger, Paul L Keplinger, and Robert P Keplinger.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to a charity of one’s own choosing, as well as to the Beacon Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Summit, NJ.
Memorial services will take place at 2.30 pm on Saturday, April 6, 2019 at Bristol Village, 660 E 5th St, Waverly, OH 45690; and at 2.30 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2019 at the Mount Vernon Unitarian Church, 1909 Windmill Lane, Alexandria, VA 22307.

Notes of condolences may be sent to the Rev. David E. Bumbaugh at 335 Oak Ave, Waverly, Ohio 45690.

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