Memorial service to be held Wednesday at Osceola Council on Aging beginning at 3 p.m.
Beverly Hougland, at right pictured with her protege and successor Wendy Ford at the Osceola Council on Aging’s 50th anniversary gala in 2023, was a friend, beacon and mother-like figure to many, many Osceolans now and over the years. She passed away last week after decades of service to the Council and community. (Photo/OCOA)
If you’ve lived in Osceola County for any length of time, and you didn’t get to meet Beverly Hougland, it means you may not have needed the help she gave to tens of thousands over the years.
By not missing out, you missed out, for she was as close to what many in the community would call the county’s patron saint.
Hougland, who was the heartbeat of the Osceola Council on Aging for over 40 years, and a friend to all, passed away last Thursday at the age of 82.
Born in Loyall, Kentucky, she made her way to Kissimmee and joined the Council on Aging in 1979 as its Meals on Wheels coordinator. She turned that role ensuring seniors receive nutritious meals into her life’s calling with the Council, ultimately becoming the CEO.
She held that role tightly, like the seniors and residents she’d find help for, for over 30 years. The OCOA is now a far-reaching agency known beyond the county’s borders for offering a wide range of programs that have an impact on the lives of tens of thousands of seniors, families, and vulnerable residents.
“Bev really put the Council on the trajectory it’s on now,” said current CEO Wendy Ford, who came to OCOA in 1999 as a housing coordinator, and came up through its ranks just like Hougland. “She allowed the people here to find their passion and what interested them. She knew that if you loved what you did, you’d take better care of people.”
Professionally, she stood out by finding all the gaps in local services, then acting on them as a visionary rather than complaining about them.
“She found the resources and put them in peoples’ lives, instead of putting a band-aid on their problems,” Ford said. “She was able to fix the whole person and taught us how to do it. That’s why we offer so many wraparound services; we’d bring the whole family in to solve their crisis. After a few months of crisis care, they no longer needed our assistance, and then Bev had us move on to the next family that needed our help.”
But personally, she stood out by making all around her family.
“When I moved here, one of my first trips into the county was with Beverly out to Kenansville,” said OCOA volunteer assistant Janice Casler. “When you met her, she treated you like someone you’d known forever. Nobody was a stranger. She made a commitment to make people’s lives better, in any way she could, and you could tell by the way she cared deeply for those around her.
“Sometimes she knew what somebody needed before they did. She would go to people and silently help them. She’s made a real impact on this community that many people outside of the Council on Aging didn’t know.”
One of her dreams was to provide more affordable housing for seniors, and she was deeply involved in the first such project in Osceola County, Oakleaf Landing, which opened in 1998, and the most recent one, Buon Vecino in Buenaventura Lakes. That latter is now under construction and didn’t come to fruition until after Hougland retired in 2019.
“I would see her around,” Ford said, “And she’d always ask me, ‘How is BVL coming?’ It was important for her to be at its groundbreaking (earlier this year), and it’s the last time many people saw her.”
And while she handed the CEO reigns to Ford, it didn’t stop Bev’s work. Ahead of what was then the predicted Florida landfall of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, volunteers saw “Bev” manning the phones and helping with intake of those with special needs who’d be riding out the storm there. Shouts of, “But you’re retired!” to Hougland were met by, “But they need me here.”
Hougland is survived by her children—who’ve all been involved with the Council— Christin, Warren and Amanda Hougland and Catherine Arft, 13 grandchildren and eight great-children.
Check aroundosceola.com this week for a story on the memorial service held Wednesday evening.
