Elizabeth McGilvray

March 17, 1917 - January 25, 2016

Elizabeth Bean McGilvray, of Montclair, NJ, died Monday, January 25, 2016 at the age of 98 at home with her family by her side. The wife of the late Dugald McGilvray and daughter of the late Rev. and Mrs. Arthur N. Bean, she was predeceased by her three sisters: Beatrice Eidsvaag, Marion Hermann Reed Mann and Charlotte Goetze Wolhorn. Born in Paterson, N.J., she was a 1934 graduate of Barringer High School, Newark, N.J. She was a legal secretary for the New York City law firm of Palmer & Serles for 10 years prior to raising a family in Bloomfield and Montclair with her husband of 47 years. For 32 years, she was employed as the Executive Secretary of the Catgut Acoustical Society. Additional employment included Boehm’s Florist in Bloomfield for 10 years. An accomplished vocalist who studied with Henry T. Davidson of New York, she was active in radio, concert and church work throughout the metropolitan area for 40 years. She was a soloist at the Central Brick Church Presbyterian Church of East Orange for 15 years, a member of the Montclair Music Club for the past 58 years and a member of The Rehearsal Club for more than 50 years serving both organizations multiple times as President, Program Chair and Historian. She was a member of the Bloomfield Civic Chorus and the Montclair A Cappella Choir. For 33 years, she was a member of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green serving as President of the Board of Deacons. As an active member of the Presbyterian Women’s Fellowship, receiving their Lifetime Award in 2009, she also volunteered many hours at the church thrift shop. She was active as a Troop 2 Bloomfield Boy Scout mother and was also responsible for promoting an expanded music program at Watchung School in Montclair. Surviving are two daughters; Jean Watson Esselink of Westport, CT and Elizabeth Hemminger of Montclair, NJ; a son Douglas McGilvray of Wayne, NJ; six grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren. Friends may visit at Van Tassel Funeral Home, 337 Belleville Avenue, Bloomfield on Tuesday, February 2nd from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm. A memorial service will be held at 11:00, Saturday, February 6 at the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green, 147 Broad St., Bloomfield, N.J. 07003. Those who wish may make contributions to the Memorial Fund of the Bloomfield Presbyterian Church on the Green or Lamp for Haiti, P.O. Box 39703, Philadelphia, PA 19106.