Beth Apley Kost, 60, of Nashville, Tennessee, formerly of Chicago, Illinois, passed away peacefully at home on February 19, 2026, after a courageous battle with breast cancer. Beth was born on November 30, 1965, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to Dale James Apley, Sr. and Anita Ann Antcliff.
Beth was a graduate of Ann Arbor Pioneer High School. She attended Hillsdale College and Eastern Michigan University, earning degrees in English and Early Childhood Education.
She began her career as an early childhood teacher, bringing her natural warmth and devotion to young children. She went on to manage the Ravenswood Medical Center Child Care Center in Chicago, where her leadership and dedication earned her the Musco Employee of the Year Award in 1998.
Beth and her husband, Stephen, started dating in college and married on May 25, 2002, in Ann Arbor. Together, they resided in Chicago for over twenty-five years before moving to Nashville in 2017.
Beth possessed a rare and beautiful gift for gathering people together and lifting up every community she touched. She was an ardent volunteer whose gracious spirit and tireless energy left an indelible mark on the organizations she served. In Chicago, she held numerous leadership roles in the Junior League of Chicago, culminating in her service as Executive Vice President. She co-chaired the Junior League’s Gazebo Holiday Mart for two years, bringing elegance and purpose to the annual tradition. The Junior League honored her extraordinary contributions with three of its most distinguished awards: the Outstanding Service Award, the Millennium Award, and the Founder’s Award.
Beth devoted herself to the fight against breast cancer long before the disease touched her own life. With no family connection to nor friends with breast cancer, she was drawn to the Y-ME National Breast Cancer Organization as a Junior League provisional project and her conviction that she could make a difference. She co-chaired the Y-ME Race Against Breast Cancer for three years. As a Y-ME board member, she founded the Y-ME Young Professionals Group, creating a vital bridge between a new generation and the cause. In recognition of her devoted service, Y-ME honored Beth with both the Dewar Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Tiffany & Co. Award.
At St. Chrysostom’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, Beth served as Junior Warden and vestry member, and co-founded the Parents with Young Children Group, nurturing the parish’s youngest families. She served on the board and co-chaired the auction at St. Chrysostom’s Day School. At Sacred Heart Schools Chicago, she served as President of Parents of the Heart and as co-chair of L’Esprit.
When the family moved to Nashville, Beth embraced her new home with characteristic generosity. She co-chaired the Spaghetti Supper at Montgomery Bell Academy and the Antiques & Garden Show Nashville. She served as President of the Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, where she founded Mahjong with Friends, combining her love of Mahjong with a devoted circle to support the hospital’s mission.
Throughout her life, Beth held a deep and abiding love for Northern Michigan. Summers spent in Harbor Springs along the shores of Little Traverse Bay were among her most treasured times. She co-chaired the Little Traverse Conservancy’s Save the Trees event twice to help protect and preserve the beauty of Northern Michigan. To support her son’s love of sailing, she was a board member of the Little Traverse Sailors sailing school and a volunteer for the Little Traverse Yacht Club annual regattas.
Beth is survived by her husband, Stephen Paul Kost, and their son, Charles Sumner Kost; her mother, Anita Ann Apley, of Dunedin, Florida; and her brother, Dale James Apley, Jr. and wife MariAnn, of Brighton, Michigan along with her nieces and nephew Braeleigh, Caroline, and Trip; and her brother-in-law, Robert Sumner Kost, and wife Lori, of Rye, New York, and nieces Samantha and Zoe.
The family asks that in lieu of flowers, a contribution might be made to the Little Traverse Conservancy in Northern Michigan or Friends of Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
A service was held at St. George’s Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee, on March 20, 2026.