Beatrice Anton Biester

Beatrice Anton-Biester, of West Deptford, departed this life on November 15, 2024, just two days after celebrating her 98th birthday.

Beatrice was born in Waterbury, CT to Greek immigrant parents, Angelike (nee Theodorakopoulos) and Peter Straikas, on November 13, 1926. Following a divorce, Angelike married Peter Antonopolous (later Anton), who took Beatrice and her older sister Alice (1923-2003) as his own. A third child, Joan, was born in 1940.

Beatrice and her sisters were raised primarily in the Bantam Lake area of Litchfield, CT. Following her high school graduation in 1944, Beatrice worked as a medical secretary in Torrington, and later for the US Navy in Washington, DC. There she met her husband Donald Biester, whom she married in 1952. They moved to Donald's hometown of Philadelphia, then to West Deptford in 1958. They raised three children: Donna Biester of Cobh, Ireland; Gary Biester (Jennifer) of Brooklyn, NY; and Paul Biester (Rayna) of Swedesboro, NJ.

Beatrice was a devoted mother and homemaker, supporting three children in varied pursuits such as dancing school, 4-H, Little League, Cub Scouts, swim team, and skiing. She was a fabulous cook who specialized in Greek cooking (keftedes, soutzoukakia, pilafi, gemista) and baking (kourabiedes, koulourakia), but was just as creative making a pot roast or spaghetti sauce. She loved to entertain friends and family and always made the holidays special and warm. 

After her divorce from Don in the 1980s, she worked for the burgeoning cable TV industry as a scheduler and executive assistant and participated in the ladies’ auxiliary at Underwood Hospital. She and a friend had a small side business as interior decorators. In later years, Bea (or Bebe as known to some friends) resided in the Mantua section of West Deptford. She enjoyed watching streaming movies (her favorite actor was Paul Newman), cooking shows, and her favorite show, CBS Sunday Morning. She was a devoted fan of the Phillies and Eagles for many years. She continued to spend time with family and friends until the end of her life and loved dining at Riverwinds, Osteria, and Speranza. Beatrice is survived by her children, sister Joan, three grandchildren, one great-grandchild, a host of nieces/grandnieces, nephews/grandnephews, and her best girlfriends. She will be sorely missed.

Visitation 12noon Friday December 6th until the memorial service at 1pm at the DAVIS & WAGNER FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES 171 Delaware Street Woodbury, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital at stjude.org; Starting Point SJ Addiction Counseling & Recovery Center at startingpoint.org or Habitat for Humanity at habitat.org. Memories and condolences may be shared at daviswagner.com