Bev Harad died last month. She was 82.

Beverly Silverstein was born to Fay and Oscar Silverstein in June of 1943 in Fall River, Massachusetts. She went to high school in Pennsylvania, where she was president of the student government. She met George Harad, dated in high school and college, and later married. She earned a bachelor’s in education at Pennsylvania State University and two master’s degrees from the University of Massachusetts. She began teaching grade school on the East Coast.

In 1976, George’s career turned toward Boise, and Bev quickly became one of the foremost advocates for education in the city over the next 50 years.

In 1981, Harad started People For Schools, a group that was working to convince voters to pass a tax increase to support the Boise School District. The district had had a fixed budget for five years while enrollment grew, leading to program cuts.

“Kids are like sponges and it hurts to see them not tapped to their full potential,” Harad told the Idaho Statesman of the initaitve in 1983, which she organized with Linda Swanson. A meeting the pair organized brought out more than 3,000 people, and the effort lit up the pages of the Statesman’s letters to the editor section. Tom Stivers, a representative in the statehouse, said the group was a “rabble rousing minority,” which led to a back-and-forth in the paper for days to come in an era before Facebook comments and tweets. The group also took arrows from district teachers.

Harad finally had her say in the Statesman. “We are just ordinary citizens who are deeply concerned and won’t allow ourselves to be ‘manipulated’ by either teachers or unknowing and uncaring legislators.”

The next year, Harad ran for a position on the Boise Public Schools Board of Trustees and was reelected twice, serving from 1984 to 2002. She helped create the Boise Public Schools Foundation and worked on expanding programs in the district.

Outside of the school district, Harad also volunteered with Idaho Public Television, Boise Art Museum, Women’s and Children’s Alliance, The Cabin literary center, Idaho Botanical Garden, Boise City Arts Commission, Boise Public Library, Idaho Heritage Trust, American Association of University Women, Teach Idaho, and more.

In 2015, Harad was honored by the Idaho Voices for Children as its Children’s Champion. In front of a group that included business, political, and community leaders, Harad received two standing ovations, according to Idaho EdNews. Family friend Skip Oppenheimer honored Harad’s work in giving the award.

Harad was the chair of the Boise Library Foundation, which helped advocate for a new library facility while the city, under former Mayor Dave Bieter, pursued a project to build a large-scale new downtown library. The effort ultimately didn’t move forward under public pressure.

“The Boise Public Library sends our condolences to the family of Bev Harad, who passed away on April 24, 2026,” the Boise Public Library wrote. “Bev was a long-time library supporter who served on the Boise Public Library Foundation and helped raise funds for the Library! at Bown Crossing, as well as new investments in technology at all locations. Bev was a passionate champion for public libraries, education, and the community in Boise.”

Life with friends, family

Harad was also a gourmet cook. Her first mention in the paper was in 1982 in longtime food columnist Romaine Galey Hon’s food section. Harad submitted a recipe for strawberries dipped in chocolate, which used the wax from two small white birthday candles to help the chocolate bind to the fruit. “Thank goodness that some of the more yummy things are the most simple to make.”

Her family said she loved to throw parties for family and friends.

Harad is survived by her husband George, her two children, their spouses and her three grandchildren.

Don Day is the co-founder and publisher of BoiseDev. He is a National Edward R. Murrow Award winner and a Stanford University John S. Knight Fellow.