Alison Gwyn Bevan Obituary
Alison Gwyn Bevan, long-time resident of Norwalk CT and New York City, died on Saturday November 9, 2024 following a brief illness. She was 64 years of age. She is survived by her loving family including her husband Michael McCormick, son Dylan McCormick, brother Richard Bevan, sister-in-law Nancy Bevan, nephews Ben & Sam Bevan, niece Julia Bevan and hundreds of dear friends and colleagues across the country whose lives she touched with her intelligence, compassion, spirit and grace.
Born in Cincinnati, OH to loving parents Joe & Jan Bevan, Alison grew up in Kansas City MO, Philadelphia PA and Ridgewood NJ, before settling in New York City as a young adult. From her earliest days, she exhibited a talent for creative arts including writing, painting, singing and acting. As a student at Ridgewood High School, where she graduated with honors in 1977, she fostered a passion for musical theater and starred in many student productions. Upon graduation, she studied acting and theater at the esteemed NYU Tisch School of the Arts in New York City. There, she thrived among fellow artists and within a year had launched her professional career as a theater actor and vocalist. Over the next two decades, Alison performed featured roles in original Broadway productions as well as classic leading roles at major repertory and regional theaters across the country. An extraordinary singer, she was also a principal artist with the New York City Opera.
In 1986, Alison married her fellow actor, love and life partner Michael. In 2001, they welcomed a beloved son, Dylan into their family. Like many young parents, they struggled to help their young child establish regular, healthy sleep patterns. This prompted Alison to begin a second career as a renowned pediatric sleep consultant. After substantial study and professional certification, she founded Sleepytime Coach, a consulting practice dedicated to helping families reduce the stress, anxiety and exhaustion that occurs when infants and young children can't achieve regular sleep. Over the next twenty years, Alison worked in partnership with large pediatric physician practices, a national women's healthcare platform and thousands of individual clients to help children and their families get better sleep. Moms and dads around the world routinely described her extraordinary skill, care and impact on their families as "life changing.".
As a parent with a passion for the arts, Alison was deeply committed to theater education in primary and secondary schools. She provided expert support to student productions and championed theater programs as a vital component of a liberal-arts education. In recognition of her talent and advocacy, she was recently elected to the Board of Trustees of Drew University in Madison, NJ. This spring, Alison and Michael proudly watched their son – a theater arts major – graduate with honors from Drew and begin his journey as a professional theater actor and vocalist… a full circle moment for their family.
Alison's greatest role was that of a fiercely loving wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. There is nothing she would not (and did not) do to help those she loved rebound from setbacks, overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams. She practiced kindness, thoughtfulness and tolerance. She bravely challenged inflated egos and willful ignorance. To those of us lucky to know her, she was the best listener, voiced the best wise cracks, threw the best Halloween parties, crafted the best costumes, had the best sense of style, knew the best places to shop, gave the best gifts, offered the best advice and most importantly, inspired us to be our best selves. She was simply the best! May she grace our hearts and spirits forever.
