Beatriz L. Theofanis

Beatriz Lopez Theofanis, born January 30,1926, passed away on December 9, 2025 at age 99. She died at home in the company of her daughter Anne and family. She was born in Sada, Galicia Spain to parents Juan Antonio Lopez and Dolores Tie. She was the youngest of her siblings: sisters Carmen, Dolores, and Libertad and a brother, Juan.

She lived most of her life in Brooklyn, New York, but went to high school in Bogota, Colombia. She eventually returned to NY and attended Hunter College. During college at Hunter, she met and fell in love with her future husband, Dr. John Theofanis. She was married in Manhattan and lived on the Lower East Side and later Far Rockaway, but eventually settled in Massapequa, NY. She spent most of her life there, near the Great South Bay and local beaches. She raised three children: John (Mona), George (Tess), and Anne Kasschau (Mark).

Beatriz returned to college as a part-time student at Queens College with her friend and neighbor, June Doane. She graduated and became a public school teacher teaching Spanish at Freeport High School and later teaching English as a Second Language at Hampton Street Elementary in Mineola. She was very fond of her students whose families had immigrated from all over the world. She used her knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese to help the families trying to adjust to life in America.

Beatriz was active in her community and volunteered as a 4-H leader. She was a member of the political group, The Great South Bay Forum. She was a tennis player and spent many hours at the public court in the local parks. She was also an artist and decorated her house with oil paintings she created. She loved to read The New York Times daily and was a member of Literature and Life.

Beatriz enjoyed museum-going and attended many concerts at Lincoln Center. She loved to travel with her husband John and visited Europe, Mexico, and across the United States. She frequented her hometown of Sada, Spain. Family was very important to Beatriz and she traveled the globe to be present in the lives of her children and grandchildren.

Beatriz will be remembered for her lively personality, intelligence, sharp wit and creativity. She was a devoted grandma to John's daughter Rosa, George's children Patrick, Robert, Eric and Raquel, Anne's children Margaret, Mariel and Mark, and 10 great grandchildren.

A memorial for Beatriz will be held in Allaben, New York this summer.