William Otto BEVILAQUA

1923 - 2019

95, an artistic, multi-talented and intrinsically gentle man, died on February 8 in Richmond, Virginia from complications after a fall in his home.Born on December 15, 1923 in Norfolk, Virginia he was the son of Otto Vincent Bevilaqua, a merchant marine captain from Genoa, Italy, and Dora Williamson of Hyde County, North Carolina. He grew up in Norfolk, graduating from Granby High School before serving in the U. S. Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II where he drove landing craft from island to island.He attended the Richmond Professional Institute, now Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received a degree in Fine Arts and graduated from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, with a Master’s degree in art. After working as an art teacher in the Richmond Public Schools he joined the art faculty at RPI, teaching in the Commercial Art Department for much of his career there and briefly served as department chair.In 1949 he married Marilyn Birtles, a fellow RPI art school graduate who also taught art in the public schools and at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Early in their careers they spent a year traveling through Europe and later a long tour to Mexico, bringing back a voluminous portfolio of photographs of art works that they used in their classes. Greatly influenced by artist Alberto Giacomettti’s elongated human figures, even his own abstract work of human forms reflected his humanist perspective. As painters, sculptors, photographers, and graphic designers, together they were an important part of the Richmond arts community.Their design talents also were evident in their homes. They were the first to renovate a row house in Richmond’s Fan District, helping start a revival of this now flourishing neighborhood. He and his wife later moved to Old Church, Virginia where they designed and built a beautiful, naturalistic home using flooring, timbers and other materials salvaged from Richmond area warehouses over the years. A skilled carpenter, Bill meticulously designed and fabricated much of the trim features throughout the house.Survivors include his nephews James S. Kitterman Jr. and wife Devra of Baltimore, Maryland, John V. Kitterman and wife Kathryn of Ferrum, Virginia, and William P. Kitterman and wife Hulet of Louisville, Georgia; his cousin Carol White of Richmond; grand and great-grand nephews and nieces as well as many beloved friends. All were greatly entertained by his story telling and impressed with his prodigious memory where even into his 90’s he could remember lucidly details from his youth.There will be a visitation on Monday, February 18 at 4 to 6 p.m. at Nelsen Funeral Home, 4650 South Laburnam Avenue, Richmond, Virginia 23221 and a graveside ceremony on Tuesday, February 19 at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Cemetery, 8100 Grandby Street, Norfolk, Virginia 23505.Memorial gifts may be made to the Eastern Hanover Volunteer Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 454, Mechanicsville, VA 23111 or to the charity of your choice