Beverley Sulzberger Obituary
Beverley Roberta Sulzberger
September 22, 1936 - December 28, 2024
Miami, Florida - Beverley Roberta Sulzberger passed away in Miami on December 28, 2024. Beverley Sulzberger was born in Morristown, New Jersey and became a Floridian in her teens in the 1950s when her family moved to South Florida.
Beverley's future was primarily as a print/photo model. She was recognized in modeling for her grace, beauty, and personality.
Beverley was among the initial Tupperware ladies and models. A photo showing her giving a sales pitch is prominently featured in the book Tupperware: The Promise of Plastic in 1950s America by Alison J. Clarke, published by the Smithsonian Institution Press.
For those who graced Miami in the 1950s, they will remember 4 large billboards on Biscayne Boulevard next to the old Sears Roebuck (where the Arsht Center now stands). Beverley often graced one of them as a swimsuit model advertising Visit Nassau, Bahamas.
Her venture on the big screen was in Frank Capra's "A Hole in the Head" with Frank Sinatra, Keenan Wynn, and Edward G. Robinson. She carried one memory from the film for the rest of her life. In the scene at the Fountainebleau Hotel pool, Beverley was in a swimsuit and Keenan Wynn approached her to discuss something. He stepped on her toes with his heavy shoe, and she had a crooked toe from that encounter from then on.
When Jay Anderson, a local dress designer in Miami, established an office in New York he asked Beverley if she could come to New York to walk the runway in his designs. While doing this runway show, one of the foremost designers of the time, Lilly Daché, asked Beverley to do some of her shows.
It was in New York in 1962 where a friend introduced Beverley to Judge Eugene W. Sulzberger, her future husband. Their first date was a game at Yankee Stadium, after which they had dinner at Toots Shor's restaurant. Eugene asked Beverley was there anything she preferred to do after dinner. She said she liked to dance. Eugene told the driver to go to Le Club, one of the premier clubs at the time in New York. Beverley said the line to get in goes around the block. The manager was a friend of Eugene's and they were graciously admitted.
On the walk back to Beverley's hotel Eugene told her that it was a superstition in his family that if you walk under an awning it was bad luck unless you kissed your date. They found as many awnings as they could. It was a whirlwind romance. They married on January 24, 1963, at the Church by the Sea in Bal Harbour, Florida.
They had an apartment in North Miami, Florida, and their first child, Eugene "Gene" C. Sulzberger, was born on June 1, 1965. After Gene's birth, the landlord advised them that they did not allow children in the building, so they had to move. They found a vacant lot in a new area known as Sans Souci Estates and it has been their home since. Their second son, Eric W. Sulzberger, was born on October 23, 1967.
On Sundays, Eugene would babysit while Beverley would engage in tennis matches with a regular group in Miami Shores. She really excelled.
In the 1970s, Eugene and Beverley built a home at Hound Ears Club in Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Beverley and the boys would spend the summers there and Eugene would commute up on weekends. The boys loved and excelled at tennis and Beverley took them to tennis tournaments around North Carolina.
When Beverley returned to Miami with the boys when summer was over, Beverley took up golf. Eugene was a high handicap golfer. In a couple of months Beverley was a better golfer than Eugene. They even won the annual La Gorce Country Club Husband and Wife tournament in 1991. Beverley also won many women's golf tournaments in both South Florida and North Carolina. Everyone wanted Beverley on their golf team. She often out drove most of the men on the starting tee; and, of course, she made a hole-in-one during her golfing days.
Beverley, never one to sit still, took an interest in real estate and was very successful. She was elected President in 1992 to the then Miami Beach Association of Realtors.
Beverley also managed to find time with Alice Carney to establish the Women's Auxiliary at St. Thomas University, raising funds for the school.
Beverley was also instrumental in funding nursing scholarships at the University of Miami and Barry University.
Beverley was the warmest, most loving, and supportive mom/wife a family could ask for. Your husband and sons love you with all of their hearts. She was loved enormously and will be greatly missed by those who loved her.
Beverley is survived by Eugene W. Sulzberger, her husband of 61 years; her son, Eugene (Gene) C. Sulzberger, President of Sulzberger Capital Advisors; her son, Eric W. Sulzberger, Managing Partner of the Sulzberger & Sulzberger Law Firm; her sister, Patricia Kyle (of Pinecrest); and her brother, Edwin Leonard (of North Carolina). Beverley's sister, Barbara Dodson, predeceased her in 2016.
There will be no funeral services. Any memorial donations may be made to the Humane Society of Greater Miami in Beverley Sulzberger's memory.
Published by the Miami Herald from Jan. 4 to Jan. 5, 2025.