Whitten

Beverley Kennett Whitten, age 81, avid supporter of the arts, community volunteer and philanthropist, died August 18, 2024, in Greenville, South Carolina. A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, September 27, 2024, at First Baptist Greenville, 847 Cleveland Street, Greenville, SC 29601. Reception immediately following the Memorial Service at the Poinsett Club, 807 E Washington St, Greenville, SC 29601. Bev was born in Richmond, Virginia on November 27, 1942, to Richard Lynn Kennett and Caroline Loudoun Jordan. She is the last member of her immediate family. Bev grew up in Virginia Beach, Virginia. In 1964, Bev graduated from Lake Erie College in Painesville, Ohio, with a degree in Chemistry. On May 22, 1965, Bev married James S. Whitten, of Birmingham, Alabama. Bev and Jim shared their love of art, music, theater and community service. Theirs was a life full of joy. They were married for 54 years. After Jim's death, Bev cared for, and was comforted by her cat, Smudge. Bev was a person of many talents and interests. She lived a life devoted to the arts. Bev could often be found front and center at musical and theatrical performances all over Greenville. Bev served on the Boards of many community and arts organizations. Among others, Bev supported Centre Stage, the Greenville County Museum of Art, the Peace Center, the Greenville Symphony, the Sigal Music Museum and the Upcountry History Museum. She volunteered at the Greenville Memorial Hospital after she moved to Greenville. Bev loved beautiful things whether they were inside or outside. As a child, she began gardening as her mother's helper weeding the flower bed. After she and Jim moved to Greenville, Bev always tried to keep blooming perennials in her garden. She was a member of the Gower Gardeners. A sign in Bev's yard reads "Friends are the flowers in the garden of life." Bev lived her life according to these words as she cultivated a garden of many friends. She was generous with her flowers, and the plants she gave her friends will live on in their gardens. Found among her papers was this quote:

Kind hearts are the garden

Kind thoughts are the roots

Kind words are the blossoms

Kind deeds are the fruit

Among Bev's papers was found her funeral requests as follows:

"God will take care of me" and "Jesus loves me".  She also saved the following poem in which we can all find comfort:

Do not stand at my grave and weep

I am not there; I do not sleep

I am a thousand winds that blow

I am the diamond glints on snow

I am the sunlight on ripened grain

I am the gentle autumn's rain

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds in circled flight

I am the soft star that shines at night

Do not stand at my grave and cry

I am not there; I did not die

For a memorial, please consider those organizations that Bev supported: The Greenville Symphony Endowment Fund, Inc., 200 S Main St, Greenville, SC 29601; Centre Stage-South Carolina, 501 River St, Greenville, SC 29601; The Upcountry History Museum, 540 Buncombe St, Greenville, SC 29601; The Sigal Music Museum, 516 Buncombe St, Greenville, SC 29601; Greenville County Museum of Art Association, 420 College Street, Greenville SC 29601; and The Peace Center for the Performing Arts, 300 S Main St, Greenville, SC 29601.

Favorite memories and condolences may be shared with the family by visiting www.thomasmcafee.com.