Sept. 26, 1949 — Aug. 29, 2026
Beaufort
Beth went to be with the angels and our Lord on Aug. 29 at Emory Hospital in Atlanta — fittingly, the very place where she met her husband, Gene, while she was a student there. Beth was born in Morristown, Tenn. on Sept. 26, 1949. She is the daughter of Jeane Strate Vann and John T. Purvis, MD of Knoxville, Tenn. She was the loving wife of Gene Waring Grace, DDS originally from Charleston, S.C.
Beth was not only smart, but beautiful. An SAE classmate of Gene’s, then in dental school, encouraged him to ask out their SAE Sweetheart. Gene checked out her picture in the annual first and said, “No thanks.” Less than a week later, seeing her walking across the campus, he immediately changed his mind. They were engaged within six months and married six months after that.
They made their home in Beaufort, where they lived for 51 years, and raised two daughters, Chilton Simmons and Katherine Hefner. A Beaufort Academy teacher finally had to ask Beth to make staying at home less fun so Katherine would want to come to school.
A political science major, Beth jumped right into community life. She chaired numerous local organizations. She was chair of the Clean Water Task Force, Main Street USA Streetscape Project, and chair of many different committees of St. Helena’s Anglican Church. Ultimately, she served 10 years on Beaufort County Council, retiring undefeated.
She was a co-founder of the Beaufort County Women’s Republican Club, and with Dot Gnann, co-chaired the county’s Rural and Critical Land Committee which was responsible for the comprehensive plan. This was the first of its kind in the state, a legacy that has helped keep Beaufort “the Beaufort we love.” Among her many honors, she most recently received the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry’s Beaufort County Leadership Award.
Beth is survived by her husband, Gene; her daughters, Chilton (George Heath Simmons, MD) and Katherine (Ashley Allen Hefner); and seven grandchildren, all of Beaufort — George Waring Simmons, Grace Evelyn Simmons, Harrison Love Simmons, Styles DeVeaux Simmons, Vann Harrison Hefner, Ford Hamilton Hefner, and Bray Waring Hefner. Her grandchildren will always remember her for her fancy tea parties for them with a little tea in their sugar, her pot roasts, and cinnamon toast, her bedtime stories combined with head massages, trips to Folly Beach, and the evening card games with her and Pop.
As one friend put it, “A light in Beaufort has gone out.” So true.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11 a.m. at the Parish Church of St. Helena in Beaufort, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Historic Beaufort Foundation, the Parish Church of St. Helena, and Beaufort Academy.