A woman of parts — Bev Cahill

Bev Cahill at the Dinner Bell.

This is the second in a series on Dinner Bell diners.


“My mother was pushing me into either nursing or teaching,” Bev said earlier this week. “Since I was no public speaker, I chose nursing, earning my R.N. certification from Flower Fifth Avenue Hospital in Manhattan.


“In the late 50s and early 60s, I was working in the medical department of the Bell Telephone Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey, when I met and married Jack Cahill, a Plainfield, New Jersey policeman. After the riots of 1965, we determined not to raise our two children, Scott and Susan, in Plainfield.”


Much earlier her mother had rented a home on West Neck Road on Shelter Island. She had married for the second time to Bill Price, the brother of Lou Price who was a big name in local real estate. This was Bev’s and Jack’s golden opportunity to leave New Jersey. Bev joined the nursing staff at Eastern Long Island Hospital, and Jack ran the Harbor Inn as a combination bar and eatery.


Bev spent 20 of her 25 years at ELIH in the Emergency Room. “I loved the action there,” she enthused. Prior to her years in ER, she had worked in pediatrics and had become head of the surgical nursing staff.


When she finally retired in 1995, Bev had the time to serve as a volunteer. From 1996 to 2006 she screened blood pressures monthly at the Shelter Island Heights pharmacy. She also became a member of the ELIH and Shelter Island Fire Department auxiliaries.


When her mother died in 2003, she became more active socially, joining the Garden Club, the Red Hat Club (they dine out monthly), and both the Shelter Island and East End Quilters.


She also became a semi-regular at the Dinner Bell. Said one young friend jokingly, “So, you finally decided you were old enough to go!” “There,” Bev said, “we have our own table, but it’s good to be able to socialize and meet other people. And I don’t have to cook at night.”


Bev called back after our phone interview with some urgent additional information— she has six grandchildren, two boys and four girls, who are the light of her life.


She is indeed a woman of parts — rich in experience, service to the community and love for her family.