Beverley Zaire Ankeney

Beverley Zaire Ankeney passed March 15, 2019 at Greene Memorial Hospital. Zaire is survived by the love of her life, Bill; her children, Scott Ankeney & Toni Ankeney; 3 grandchildren; and 3 great grandchildren. She is proceeded in death by her parents.

Enjoy the words put together by the love of her life, Bill, about her life.

Born in Ohio, Zaire spent many of her early summers on Neebish Island, Michigan on the down bound channel with its ever changing display of lake freighters. Later the opening of the St. Lawrence seaway added salt water ships to the nautical parade. After high school she attended the School of the Dayton Art Institute where, having taken the required courses which included water color, she majored in technical illustration as evidenced in the detail of her drawings. After working as a technical illustrator in an art studio, she, her husband and two young children decided to move to Neebish Island where they operated a fishing camp, this time on the upbound channel where she continued to enjoy and to paint the passing display of ships. While there her work was featured by the well known Soo newspaperman, "Shine" Sundstrom in his seaway column "Three Longs & Two Shorts". She was also invited to display her paintings at the 1966 Lake Carriers Association's "Man of the year" banquet at the Ojibway Hotel for which she also painted table favors for each Captain featuring a ship of his line with the appropriate "stack markings". Now a resident of Florida she makes yearly pilgrimages back to "the island" for continued inspiration.