Elisabeth Beatrez - Obituary

n the early morning of January 9th, 2016, Elisabeth passed away at Southern Maryland Hospital in Clinton, Maryland after suffering a stroke a week before. She was 84 years old. Elisabeth was born on August 23rd, 1931 to Alver J. E. Madsen and Gudrun Elisabeth Jorgensen Madsen in town of Roskilde in Denmark. Although an only child, she grew up in an extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. She was nine years old when the Nazis invaded and occupied Denmark on April 9, 1940 during World War II. The hardships of war left a lasting impact on her. After the war in 1945, her father who had been serving at sea with the Military Sea Transportation Service settled in Sebastopol, California and sent for his wife and daughter. Elisabeth attended the University of California at Berkeley where she met her future, husband Robert Anthony Beatrez in the Catholic Student Newman Club. After they graduated, Elisabeth and Robert were married in Sebastopol on August 22nd, 1953. They started their married life in San Francisco where they had their first three children: Teresa in 1955, Hilary in 1956 and Michael in 1958. Robert’s position in the Navy as an engineer brought the family to Washington, D.C. where they settled in Marlow Heights, Maryland in 1959. That year, Elisabeth gave birth to their second daughter, Veronica. They added to their family with Juanita in 1961, Luisa in 1963 and Vincent in 1967. They were active in the Holy Family Catholic Parish in Hillcrest Heights where the children attended primary school. In addition to caring for her family, Elisabeth served as a volunteer for the American Lung Association where she supported local smoking bans in public places. She was also active in the Right to Life movement, volunteering at a pregnancy crisis hotline for Birthright. As a hobby, Elisabeth enjoyed needlework including knitting and embroidery. She had a European knitting style of holding the needles and yarn that was as fast as a machine. Her enjoyment of music led her to become a member of the church choir at Holy Family and Robert soon joined her. They later changed their parish to St. Ignatius in Oxon Hill to where she remained a member until her death, although she participated in choirs in several parishes including St. John’s in Clinton and St. Phillip the Apostle in Suitland. Elisabeth was active in several Scandinavian cultural organizations including the American Scandinavian Association, the Sons of Norway and the Drott Lodge Vasa Order of America where she organized the annual Sankta Lucia Festival. Her grandchildren participated in the procession as attendants, star boys and even the Lucia bride. Most recently she was active in the Norwegian Church in Washington, D.C. where she sang in the choir with her husband and daughter. Elisabeth maintained an extensive network of family and friends by corresponding through letters and greeting cards as well as frequent phone calls. She was proficient in several languages including Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, German, French and Spanish. She utilized her language skills as a volunteer interpreter at the area airports by phone. Elisabeth is survived by Robert A. Beatrez, her husband of 62 years and her seven children Teresa Beatrez of Temple Hills, MD, Hilary (Paula) Beatrez of North Olmsted OH, Michael (Sharon) Beatrez of Riverdale, MD, Veronica (Rodney) Proctor of Waldorf, MD, Juanita Maria Danyi of Bethlehem, PA, Luisa (Eduardo) Ferreira of West River, MD and Vincent (Diane) Beatrez of Hughesville, MD. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren and numerous cousins and friends in the United States and Europe. Her dear cousin Bent Madsen died in Denmark on the same day. In lieu of flowers, donations made be made to the Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary in Poolsville where Elisabeth sponsored many pigs at www.animalsanctuary.org or Melwood where her daughter Teresa has been a client for many years at www.melwood.org. Friends are invited to celebrate Elisabeth's life on Thursday, January 14 at 9 A.M. until Mass of Christian Burial at 10 A.M. at St. Ignatius Catholic Church, 2401 Brinkley Road, Fort Washington, MD. Interment will be at Resurrection Cemetery, 8000 Woodyard Road, Clinton, MD. Please leave your thoughts and memories by signing the guestbook located on the left.