Longtime Naperville resident and preschool teacher Beverly Eigenberg, better known as”Miss Bev,” was thought of by many as a champion for children.
Miss Bev brings early childhood learning to new Naperville schools
Miss Bev started several nursery schools in Naperville, but her biggest pride and joy was Creative Nursery School, which she founded and ran for 30 years.
“It just turned into a bundle of joy over there. She had the opportunity and the privilege to live her dream,” said her son David Eigenberg.
“She would’ve given her last dime to save a child,” said Margie Moody, a former teacher at Creative.
Miss Bev created the school with the help of Carol Tice and later convinced Moody to take an assistant role, despite her plans to teach high school.
“I loved it. It completely changed my life,” Moody said. “(Miss Bev’s) enthusiasm and love just brought that to me that this is where I belong rather than with high school students.”
Parents also felt Bev’s passion as well.
“When I first met Miss Bev, there was just a radiance and a joy that came out of her,” said Jane Wernette, whose three daughters all attended Creative Nursery.
“They felt seen and they felt heard and they felt loved in that environment, and that’s a gift,” she said.
“She was an amazing force in our community,” said friend Nina Menis, now executive director of KidsMatter. “She loved kids and loved people.”
Helping children near…and far
Miss Bev’s impact wasn’t just local. It also expanded across the globe. She and her husband Harry joined the missionary with Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church for several trips from Naperville to its city sister, Nitra, Slovakia. There, they helped at a shelter for battered women and children and an orphanage.
“These kids were in trouble and they needed somebody,” said Don Swanson, director of the missionary. “So we’d go over there, play with them and love them, and Bev was in the center of it all.”
The city of Nitra was so impressed with Bev, says Swanson, that they built a statue in her honor that resides in city hall to this day.
An inspiration to her family
While Bev was doing mission work in Slovakia, her son David Eigenberg was in New York pursuing his acting career. He would eventually find success with roles in “Sex and the City” and later, “Chicago Fire,” which he attributes to his mother’s influence.
“I believe in serving people through television and it’s to bring a little bit of joy, a little bit of laughter, little bit of pathos, understanding, and compassion to the human condition. And I think that came from my mom. I’m lucky for that,” David said.
The lasting legacy of Miss Bev
Bev died on April 6 at the age of 87. But the life lessons she taught will continue for generations to come.
“She had a saying, ‘Childhood is a journey. Not a race.’ She was always a great reminder that this is a special time, that they’re small for a very small, fleeting moment and you need to invest in that time,” said Wernette.
It’s a philosophy she passed down to her three children – David, Helen, and Elisabeth, all proud of the difference their mom made.
“My mom left a real beautiful legacy here in Naperville,” said David.
Photo courtesy of Friedrich-Jones Funeral Home
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