Beverly "Bev" Esto

Beverly "Bev" Joseph Esto, 102, of Mt. Pleasant, SC, husband of the late Ruth Winogene Kettle Esto, died on Monday, November 28, 2011. All services will be held at a later date in Geneva, New York. Arrangements by J. HENRY STUHR MOUNT PLEASANT CHAPEL.

Mr. Esto was born on April 24, 1909 in Sayre, Pennsylvania, son of the late James Henry Esto and Emma Primps Esto. He moved to Geneva, New York when he was eight years old. After receiving his education in the Geneva Schools, he joined Shuron Optical Company as a payroll Clerk in 1929. He joined the Army Air Corps in June 1942 and spent three years in India attached to the 1036th Signal Company as a cryptographer. Upon his discharge, he returned to Shuron as a foreman of the lens department. In 1958, he was put in charge of quality control. He moved to Barnwell, South Carolina as Chief Inspector of the single vision lens department in 1960. Later he went to Tampa, Florida as Chief Inspector of the Tampa operation. After retiring from Shuron in 1974, he moved to Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. His hobby was music – playing the trumpet and the trombone. He was a former member of Geneva, New York's American Legion Drum and Bugle Corps, one of the nation's finest.

He is survived by one daughter, Mary Ellen Esto Huggins and her husband, Edward, of Mt. Pleasant, SC; one son, James Bruce Esto and his wife, Lynda, of Tampa, FL; four grandchildren, Chad Huggins, M.D. and his wife, Molly of Savannah, GA, Laura Johnson and her husband, Kirk of Winter Park, FL, Elizabeth Warren and her husband, Matthew of Washington, DC, and Ryan Esto and his wife, Karen of Tampa, FL; six great-grandchildren and six nephews and one niece. He was preceded in death by his brother, Donald Esto and a sister, Phyllis Esto Whitney.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Hospice of Charleston Foundation, 676 Wando Park Blvd., Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464.