Beverly Eaves Perdue, the 73rd governor of North Carolina, was born in Grundy, Virginia in 1947. Born to parents who did not finish high school, education was something that was valued in her childhood home, as she and her brother were encouraged to go as far as they could in their education. Taking on many different career paths, Beverly Perdue received her Bachelors from the University of Kentucky, her Medical Degree from the University of Florida, and her Ph.D. in Education Administration from the University of Florida. Before stepping into political life, Perdue spent time as a public school teacher and a medical professional at a hospital in the geriatric department. In 1970 she married her first husband, Gary Perdue, and was later divorced in 1994. She has been married to her current husband, Bob Eaves, since 1997. In 1986 Beverly Perdue was elected to North Carolina's House of Representatives, rising to serve in the Senate while raising her sons Garrett and Emmett. Following her time in Senate, she was elected as North Carolina's first female Lieutenant Governor (2000) and in 2008 she was elected as North Carolina's first female Governor until 2013 when she announced that she would not be running for reelection. Beverly Perdue is not only a politician but a daughter, sister, mom, wife, teacher, student, and businesswoman founding her non-profit organization, digiLEARN, in 2014.
Beverly married her first husband, Gary Perdue, on January 3, 1970 and they had two sons. Their first son Garrett was born in 1976 and their second son Emmett was born in 1979. Beverly and Gary divorced in 1994, but she continues to use the name Perdue. She remarried in 1997 to Bob Eaves and uses Eaves as her middle name. Beverly and Bob have eight grandchildren.
Before Perdue began her political career, she worked for twelve years as a gerontologist at the Craven County Hospital, now the CarolinaEast Medical Center, in New Bern, NC. During her time there, she was a Health Care Policy and Grant Writer. While in this position, she wrote several award-winning grant proposals She went on to become the Director of Geriatric Services.
Beverly Perdue was born Beverly Marlene Moore in Grundy, Virginia on January 14, 1947 to Alfred P. Moore and Irene Morefield Moore. After dropping out of school in the ninth grade to help his parents during the Great Depression, Alfred worked in the Appalachian coal mine fields before enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1921 during World War II. His military career ended when he was wounded in the Pacific. Upon returning to Grundy in 1946, he began a long career in the coal mine industry, eventually working his way up to owning several coal mining companies. He ultimately became before a partner in the United Coal Company. Alfred died in 1999. In his obituary published in the Sun Journal, Beverly spoke of how her father's influence impacted the decisions she made in politics. She said of her father: "He believed in what was right and what was not right. There was no gray. All of my choices are flavored by that sense of what is right and wrong."
Although Perdue's parents never finished high school, they instilled in her the importance of receiving a formal education and encouraged her to pursue higher education. After graduating from Grundy Senior High School (now called Grundy High School), in 1965, Beverly attended the University of Kentucky where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma, earning her BA in History in 1969. She later attended the University of Florida where she earned an M.Ed. degree in community college administration in 1974. She continued her studies at the University of Florida where she completed her Ph.D. degree in Administration in 1976. Her thesis focused on educational gerontology (how to improve education for senior citizens). "Education should be seen as a lifelong process," she wrote. "Institutions of higher education in Florida should provide some type of educational experience for adults of all ages, including the elderly." In 2013, Beverly was a resident fellow at Harvard Kennedy School and from 2013 to 2014 she attended Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow.
Beverly graduated from Grundy Senior High School (now called Grundy High School), in 1965,
Perdue's early career involved teaching elementary, middle, and high school classes in both the Florida and Georgia public school systems. In 1973 she was hired at Vanguard High School in Ocala, Florida where she spent a year teaching Social Studies to twelfth grade students. During this time, she and her husband attended the University of Florida. Prior to this, Perdue taught for one year at Auburn Elementary School in Winder, Georgia and she spent two years teaching ninth grade at Highlands Jr. High in Jacksonville, Florida.
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