The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Beverly Seely Bauer Briggs of Somerset passed away September 13 at the Bristal at Somerset Assisted Living. She was 94.
A parishioner of Christ Episcopal Church, New Brunswick, for more than 50 years, she was a member of the Altar Guild and served on several church committees. Beverly was a longtime member of the women’s League of Rutgers University, the Jersey Blue Chapter, and Daughters of the American Revolution, where she served as Chaplain.
Born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, to Walter Kaye Bauer and Helen Stanton-Seely Bauer, Bev lived in Wethersfield, Connecticut, Newport, Rhode Island, Hawaii and Roseville, Minnesota before moving to Kendall Park in 1964 then Somerset in 1968.
Beverly studied art at the Hartford Art School; University of Hartford, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. She was an excellent artist; with a forte in landscapes using oil paint. She also made whimsical buildings, homes and shops using large rocks and stones she picked up from beaches.
Being an avid reader and wordsmith – she had a quick wit and a sharp tongue – it was no wonder she worked at the Franklin Township Public Library where she retired as head of the Circulation Department.
She and her husband Dr. David Griffith Briggs, Professor Emeritus of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at Rutgers University, had been married for 70 years. Avid travelers, they loved river cruises and traveled extensively throughout Europe and here in the USA where they enjoyed opera, theater, art, music, and history. They were also a Navy couple who loved to meet their old shipmates and spouses on reunions in quaint sea towns, headlined by Newport, RI.
Beverly was predeceased by her sister, Linda Havens Bauer.
She is survived by her husband David; three sons, David Stanton Briggs and his wife Stephanie of Belle Mead; Glenn Griffith Briggs of Perkasie PA, and Dr. Jonathan Havens Briggs and his wife Michelle of Beaufort, SC. Her seven grandchildren Michael Briggs of San Diego; Kaitlyn (Briggs) Sparks of Lancaster, PA.; Alexandra (Briggs) Bujakowski of Newport; Jonathan M. Briggs of Quantico, VA.; Shaun, Natalia, and Jackson Briggs of Beaufort, S.C., and two nieces, Heather Richards and Heidi Cassidy Restucci.
Private cremation services have been handled under the professional direction of the Gleason Funeral Home, Somerset.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11 a.m. Oct. 3 at Christ Church in New Brunswick, with light refreshments following the service.
