Beverly Ann Isman

Beverly Ann Morse was born June 6, 1950 at the New London, NH hospital. Bev’s parents, Frank and Dottie Morse, took her immediately to live on Star Island in Lake Sunapee, NH where she lived or visited for the summer and fall until 1994 when it was sold. Until she started elementary school, the Morses spent winters in Florida where Frank worked in several jobs including as a boat driver for waterskiing at Cypress Gardens. Bev attended Sunapee Central School from 1956-68 where she participated in book club, a state library association, all state chorus, state championship girls basketball, 4H and Girl Scouts, and graduated as the valedictorian. That summer she reigned as the Sunapee Bicentennial queen and worked as a dental assistant. All throughout childhood she helped her family with the Sunapee Water Ski School and performed in water ski shows every week throughout NH and VT. Much of the memorabilia from the ski school and family was donated to the Sunapee Historical Society.

Bev earned a BS in Dental Hygiene in 1972 and an MPH in Public Health in 1976 from the University of Michigan, staying in Ann Arbor to work as a program associate at the Institute for the Study of Mental Retardation and Related Disabilities, an interdisciplinary teaching facility serving community organizations and parents of children and adults with special needs. She also worked as a part-time dental hygienist in private practice in Ann Arbor close to the U of M football stadium where she cheered the team on for 10 years. In 1973 she married William Entwistle but got divorced in 1978 and moved to Denver, CO where she was Chief of Dental Hygiene at the JFK Child Development Center at the UC Health Sciences Center serving as Training Coordinator for the interdisciplinary professionals performing case assessment and management of families and established clinical rotations for dental and dental hygiene students. From September 1983 to October 1989 she then transitioned to the Dental School as full time faculty, eventually associate professor with tenure. Major teaching responsibilities (including continuing education courses) included geriatrics, special patient care, community health, cross cultural issues, and interdisciplinary teamwork for health professions students at all levels; she also wrote and managed interdisciplinary research and training grants and contracts and directed the extensive clinical extramural rotation program for dental students, mostly in rural Colorado including the summer migrant program. During that time she also received national certifications as an Editor for the Life Sciences (ELS) after completing a national exam, American Medical Writers Association Core Curriculum Certificate—Multidisciplinary Focus, and an Advanced Writer certificate. She also did a two -month sabbatical in Washington, DC in the editorial offices of Public Health Reports, J Dent Educ, and J Public Health Dent.

In her next life chapter, she served as the Director, Division of Dental Health, Maine Dept. of Human Services starting in 10/89 where she administered a statewide dental health program and supervised 5 staff. This brought her back to her beloved New England where she again spent time in her hometown as much as possible and also visited her mother who had divorced Frank in 1993, gotten remarried, and moved to Florida where she eventually died of cervical cancer in 1993.

In October 1992 the Indian Health Service recruited Bev to move to Portland, Oregon to serve as a Public Health Advisor, Portland Area Indian Health Service to provide training and technical assistance to 40 tribes and 26 clinics in 3 states and coordinate all oral health promotion/disease prevention activities. During 1993 she married Robert (Bob) Isman who then was the dental director in California. She moved to Davis CA in November 1993 but continued to commute to Portland to work part-time with the IHS until July 1994. She then worked as a Professional Education Specialist, University of California Davis for the California Department of Health Services, July 1994 to July 2000. She was responsible for writing and coordinating production of continuing education curriculum modules for healthcare professionals on breast health and breast cancer, interfacing with national experts and providing technical assistance to agency representatives in 14 California regional partnerships.

Since 2000 she was a self-employed consultant with the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, primarily performing grantwriting/reporting, cooperative agreement management, and technical assistance to states. She also consulted with several other community-based groups and national organizations and held position on non profit community boards and in national organizations such as the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped and the American Public Health Association.

Since marrying Bob, they traveled to more than 50 countries and islands around the world, planning travel on their own via car, traveling in small groups through different companies by van, train and ship, taking Viking sea cruises to Iceland and the Caribbean during the pandemic, and enjoying small safari trips to Africa. Some of Bev’s favorite countries included France and western Europe, Canada, Costa Rica, Peru, the Caribbean, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland, SE Asia, Japan and Denmark. Their house in Davis CA is full of memorabilia and art from around the world.

Beverly continued to visit her hometown and friends and took over her father’s house in 2009 when he suddenly passed away. It continued to be her happy place to visit, meeting her cousins Lorna and Marshall there until her death. Although an only child with no children, she was devoted to her and special needs child dental patients and to her many adopted cats. Bev passed away on March 16, 2026, with her husband Bob at her side. She appreciated all the support she received from her many friends around the world and neighbors and Bob during her 3-year battle with pancreatic cancer.