It’s hard to describe Mary Alice Bevilaqua in just one word. Friends and family say she was a force of nature: brilliant, elegant and courageous, passionate about history, education and community involvement. She had integrity and valued respect and civility.
“The thing that’s really difficult to do is portray the essence of who she was, because she was so extraordinarily different,” said John Bevilaqua, Mary Alice’s husband of 14 years. “She just literally lit up a room when she went into it.”
Bevilaqua had a strong conviction that every person deserves to be shown respect and compassion.
She showed compassion through the multiple organizations and groups she was involved in. She had been development director for Oglethorpe University, Reinhardt University, Atlanta Botanical Garden and Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. She’d also served as executive director of Historic Oakland Foundation and Patriotism Rocks Education Foundation, a non-profit she and her husband founded.
She volunteered at Atlanta Humane Society, Shepherd Center and United Service Organizations, and she was active in the Junior League of Atlanta. She was a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) for 28 years, holding a variety of leadership positions, including president of the Georgia division.
Mary Alice Howell Alexander Bevilaqua, of Dunwoody, died June 5 at Northside Hospital of acute respiratory failure. She was 66.
A memorial service will be held in her honor at 11 a.m. Saturday at Northside United Methodist Church. SouthCare Cremation & Funeral Society is in charge of arrangements.
Sharon Steele-Smith, who worked with Bevilaqua in the Alfred Holt Colquitt Chapter 2018 of the UDC, described their friendship as “a blast.”
“She was more than a friend. She was a mentor, an inspiration, and I admired her and looked up to her.”
Steele-Smith said Bevilaqua was dedicated to historic preservation and services for veterans because it was her belief that “life’s a lot more meaningful if we serve those who came before us.”
Bevilaqua was recognized for her dedication to historic preservation 2000 by Secretary of State Cathy Cox, when she was presented with the award for Outstanding Achievement for Preserving Georgia’s History. In 2001, the American Society of Landscape Architects also recognized her for historic preservation efforts. She was appointed to the Georgia Civil War Commission by Governor Zell Miller in 1998, and again by Governor Roy Barnes in 2000.
In addition to her husband, Bevilaqua is survived by her daughter, Elisabeth Patton Alexander of Oxford, Miss. and one grandson.
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