Beverly Nestande leaves legacy of dedication

Alex Coolman

Beverly Nestande, a woman whose commitment to community and desire to

improve the lives of others touched many in the Newport-Mesa area, died

Wednesday at her home in Orange. She was 64.

The cause of death was complications from colon cancer, which Nestande

had battled for five years.

Nestande was the ex-wife of Bruce Nestande, the former state

assemblyman, Orange County supervisor and current president of the El

Toro advocacy group Citizens for Jobs and the Economy. The couple was

married in 1959 and divorced in 1979.

Though she lived for decades in Orange, Nestande worked from 1978

through the early 1990s at the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce.

While there, she developed programs such as a chamber’s political action

committee and the Leadership Tomorrow group, which encourages businesses

to become involved in their communities.

“Beverly had a great deal of passion when it came to helping others,”

said chamber president Richard Luehrs. “She had a high ethical standard

and kept it every single day. She was a tireless worker. It was hard to

keep up with her.”

Nestande left the chamber to work for Olive Crest Homes and Services

for Abused Children in Santa Ana. She spent 12 years there, eventually

becoming known as the “Mother Teresa” of Olive Crest, according to a

statement released Wednesday by Donald Verleur II, the organization’s

chief executive officer.

“She had a selfless determination to make sure the abused and

neglected children served by Olive Crest had opportunities for a

meaningful and better future -- to grow up to become assets to our

communities,” Verleur said in the statement.

The state of California honored Nestande with its Woman of the Year

Award in 1998.

Many of Nestande’s volunteer activities had a direct effect on the

people and institutions of the Newport-Mesa area.

She was a member of Hoag Hospital’s 552 Club, sat on the board of

directors of Orange Coast College’s foundation and worked with the Orange

County Philharmonic Society and the Braille Institute Auxiliary.

“You name it down in Newport and she’s been a part of it,” said her

39-year-old son, Barry Nestande, who works as a business manager for

Southwest Community Church in Palm Desert.

Barry said his mother’s legacy would be her mentoring to the less

fortunate.

“It’s now time for us to carry on that legacy that she began,” he

said. “That’s what sits in my heart about her.”

Nestande is also survived by another son, Brian, 36, and his two

children.

Brian Nestande said it was difficult to determine exactly where his

mother got her talent for integrating people into meaningful communities.

“We’ve tried to dissect it over and over again,” he said. “I don’t

know. Some people just have something inside of them.”

Public services will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Calvary Church,

1010 N. Tustin Ave., Santa Ana.