Beatrice Lyons

Beatrice “Bea” Lyons, 104, passed away peacefully in the arms of her daughter on June 15, 2023, in Saratoga, California. Beatrice was preceded in death by her parents, George Westerfield and Mary Cash, her devoted husband, Nathaniel Lyons, her daughter Barbara Ann Lyons, and her five siblings.

Bea, affectionately known as “Queen Bea,” was born in Keokee, VA, December 19, 1918. She spent her early years in Logan County, West Virginia, where she met and in 1937 married the love of her life, Nathaniel Lyons, and started a family. Bea with Nathaniel would move to Chicago and in 1982 settled in California to be closer to her adult children.

In 1956 she graduated from Practical Nurses School and enjoyed a ten-year career working in Chicago’s Cook County and Michael Reese Hospitals from 1956 to 1966. She later used her nursing skills to care fulltime for her ailing husband until his death in 1988. They had been married for just shy of 51 years.

Bea was a highly spiritual being who attended church on Sundays and was a faithful and active member of the Christ Universal Temple of Chicago. She was active in the community serving as a volunteer with the Visiting Nurses Association, helping others through the grieving process. She loved being physically active and could be found at the gym three to four times a week well into her 90s. She was an avid reader and enjoyed frequent outings to the movie theater. She was also an excellent cook, and if you visited at the right time, you may have been treated to a taste of her homemade peach brandy!

Beatrice is survived and forever remembered by her loving children, daughter Marian Frances Brooks, son Larry Edward (Faye) Lyons; grandchildren Dedrick (Chatelle) Brooks, Tamara Brooks, Andre (Francine) Brooks, and Niska (Carlos) Soles-Raymond; great-grandchildren Desirae, Devin, Skylar, Chase, Xavier, and twins Tori and Kingston; and great-great grandchildren Micah, Zayn, and Rayce.

2 TIMOTHY

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith..."

A funeral service for Beatrice will be held Sunday, July 2, 2023 from 11:30 AM to 1:00 PM at Oak Hill Funeral Home & Memorial Park, 300 Curtner Ave, San Jose, CA 95125, followed by a burial from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. Reception will follow, 2:30-4:30 at the Rock Bottom Brewery, 1875 S. Bascom Ave, Unit 700, San Jose, CA 95008.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.oakhillfuneral.com for the Lyons family.