Owner of hotel was on council

4/14/2010

OAK HARBOR - Beverly J. Goldstein, 80, a member of Village Council who, with her late husband, Jim, owned local businesses including the landmark Oak Harbor Hotel, died of lung cancer Sunday in her home.

On Jan. 1, Mrs. Goldstein began her third four-year council term, to which she was elected in November.

"She thought things through," said Tom Leaser, Oak Harbor mayor from 1990 to 1998. "Sometimes council people aren't prepared for discussions, but Bev was always prepared and did her homework before she got there. She had good ideas about what she thought needed to be done, and she expressed them."

Her son Jim said: "She took her responsibility on council seriously."

Mrs. Goldstein retired from her last business venture, the hotel, around 2004, more than 25 years after she and her husband took ownership. The three-story building was constructed in 1899 by a former Sandusky brewing company to accommodate travelers on their way to Port Clinton or Lakeside, Ohio, from Toledo.

The Goldsteins refurbished it as they could and added some vintage charm, including a mahogany bar back and chandeliers once in Toledo's Boody House.

"It was an expensive proposition," their son said. "They liked this little community and tried to preserve it as best they could."

Trends in lodging changed with the times. Much of the revenue came not from room rentals but from the restaurant and bar, which for years were run by her daughter and son-in-law, Jill and Jim Hickey. Mrs. Goldstein was the business manager.

She was bookkeeper for the couple's first venture, Oak Harbor Dry Cleaner, which her husband took over from his father. In the early 1970s, the couple bought the Band Box Cleaners and moved there.

"She basically loved Oak Harbor, and she loved keeping the downtown business area alive," Mr. Leaser said.

Mrs. Goldstein was a member of Oak Harbor United Methodist Church. She was president of United Methodist Women and, for 50 years, sang alto in the church choir.

She was a member more than 50 years of the Epsilon Eta chapter of Sigma Alpha, a philanthropic group, her son said.

She and her husband acted in musicals at Playmakers Civic Theatre in Port Clinton. She belonged to a bridge club for decades.

Born in Toledo, she was a graduate of Oak Harbor High School.

She and James W. Goldstein married May 29, 1948. He died March 25, 1986.

Surviving are her sons, James R. and Jerry, daughters, Jill Hickey and Joan Dean, brother, Jack Miles, 12 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

The body will be in the Robinson-Walker Funeral Home, Oak Harbor, after 2 p.m. today. Services will be at 11 a.m. tomorrow at Oak Harbor United Methodist Church. The family suggests tributes to the church, Oak Harbor Senior Center, or Heartland Hospice.

Contact Mark Zaborney at:

mzaborney@theblade.com

or 419-724-6182.