Beatrice R. Buller

Beatrice R. Buller was born on September 25, 1920 in Duisberg, Germany, and passed away on October 12, 2008 in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 88 years and 17 days. Her husband of 51 years, Henry P. Buller, her son, René Aldo Buller, and her brother Kenneth Rosenthal and wife Anne preceded her in death. Her survivors are: brother Gerard Rosenthal and wife Marie of Aurora, Colorado, nieces Jeanne-Marie Neuroth and husband Richard of Wichita, Kansas and Carol Ann Rosenthal of Logan, Utah, nephews Roger Rosenthal of Arlington, Virginia, Robert Rosenthal and wife Kim of Denver, Richard Rosenthal and wife Felicity Thompson of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Donald Rosenthal of Redwood City, California, nine great-nieces & nephews and one great-great niece. She is also survived by her daughter of the heart, Eileen Garrett. Bea was a Holocaust survivor who lived in Belgium and France before immigrating to the U.S. following her marriage to Henry Buller in 1942. They came to Beaumont in 1962 where Henry taught Psychology at Lamar and Bea began a 20 year career teaching French & German at South Park High School. At retirement, Bea & Henry pursued a long-held dream: they lived for a full year in Pezenas, in the south of France. Returning stateside, Bea rapidly became one of the busiest volunteers in Beaumont. Among the organizations that benefited from her involvement were the League of Women Voters, Beaumont Association of Retired Teachers, Lamar Women's Club, Some Other Place, Habitat for Humanity, Northwood Christian Church and the West End YMCA. She continued to teach: she introduced elementary school students in the Beaumont schools to foreign language, and she began an association with the Literacy Council that continued for the rest of her life. As she aged, she opened her home to Lamar graduate students, primarily International students. She was passionate about intercultural understanding as an avenue to world peace, and she never tired of learning about other countries. Yet she remained deeply grateful to this country and what it meant to her as a young immigrant. Bea literally never met a stranger, and because she had experienced discrimination herself, she was almost completely without bias. She accepted people as they were, and expected to be accepted in kind. In short, Beatrice Buller was unique. There will be a memorial service for Bea on Saturday, November 15, at 11:00 AM, at Northwood Christian Church, 5050 Eastex Freeway in Beaumont, TX 77708. Memorial gifts may be directed to Northwood Christian Church, Bethel College, 300 E. 27th Street, Newton, Kansas 67117, or Some Other Place, P.O. Box 843, Beaumont, TX 77704. The family would like to express special thanks to Pastor Melissa Roth and Nike Fagunwa, R.N. for their loving assistance to Bea at the end of her life. Further information about Bea can be found at: www.sybis.com/ beatrice_r_buller/.