Beverly Jean Wingate – a community activist, dedicated volunteer, and the driving force behind Dunwoody’s incorporation efforts – died Oct. 30 after a two-year battle with cancer. She was 89.
Bev, as she was known to friends and family, was honored by the Dunwoody City Council in August 2020 for her philanthropic efforts over the past half-century. She was affectionately known as the “Mother of Dunwoody.”
“Bev Wingate was a determined, brilliant woman who was ahead of her time and led a remarkable life,” Dunwoody Mayor Lynn Deutsch said in a statement to Rough Draft. “In her 40-plus years of service to Dunwoody, she has impacted nearly all our non-profit organizations, and her legacy can be seen all over our city. Our deepest sympathies to her family and friends. She will be missed.”
Dunwoody City Councilmember John Heneghan called Wingate “a lovely lady who was hard as nails and produced a whirlwind of energy for the issues she cared about.”
“Our community was blessed with her dedication and leadership on a number of issues, including the creation of the city of Dunwoody,” he said.
Former State Rep. Fran Millar said Wingate was a “remarkable woman.”
We were blessed to have her be a selfless leader in our community,” Millar said.
Former Dunwoody Councilmember Terry Nall, who worked with her when Dunwoody sought incorporation, said she epitomized the concept of service over self.
“Bev was a life-long ‘doer’ of great things to make her community a better place to live,” Nall said. “She shunned the spotlight, but instead focused on completing the end goal of any task, including the 2008 city incorporation vote as co-chair of ‘Dunwoody Yes.'”
“Regardless of the task, she was the first to say, ‘Let’s get it done.’ And get it done is exactly what Bev did,” he continued.
Wingate was born in 1934 and grew up on a farm in Champaign, II. She became active in the community early in life, participating in the 4-H Club and Future Homemakers of America. After a successful 10-year career at Illinois Bell Telephone, she retired to marry Walter Anderson. Her son, Walter, was born in 1966.
After divorcing Anderson, Bev married Ron “Windy” Wingate in November 1972, a union that lasted 46 years until his death in 2018.
Wingate’s 40 years of service included leadership roles with the Dunwoody Newcomers Club, Dunwoody Woman’s Club, Dunwoody Preservation Trust, Spruill Center Guild, Stage Door Theater, Dunwoody Nature Center, Dunwoody Veterans Day, Memorial Day and 911 memorial events, and Dunwoody’s annual 4th of July Parade.
In 2007, she and her husband were chosen to serve as grand marshals of the parade.
She also served on the DeKalb County Domestic Violence Task Force, DeKalb County Veterans Advisory Board, and Dunwoody United Methodist Church.
However, Wingate was best known as a key player in the effort to incorporate Dunwoody.
The 2020 Dunwoody proclamation said that Wingate “was an integral member of the founding committee for the incorporation of the city of Dunwoody, where her insight, professional expertise, and historical knowledge of Dunwoody contributed to the efforts of the committee.”
After Wingate helped guide the resolution for the city’s incorporation, she continued to serve on various city committees.
She is survived by her son, Walter Anderson, who said that his mother fought her battle with cancer with courage, “never complaining or holding a pity party for herself.”
“This was to me her greatest accomplishment and a testimony to her strong faith and character,” he said. “Heaven gained a real firecracker today. I hope they are ready.”
A private service for Wingate will be held at a later date.
