Prayers and a Celebration of Life will be held at St. Anne’s Catholic Church at 5210-50th Street, Barrhead, AB on August 29th at 7:PM and August 30th at 11AM.

Donations in memory of Beatrice gratefully accepted to St. Anne’s Parish or the Barrhead Continuing Care Centre Auxiliary.

Beatrice Rose Zubot was born in Fox Valley, Saskatchewan on October 12, 1938, to parents Cleo and Johanna Grimm. “Bea” was the second youngest of 4 children: Josephine, Kenneth, Bea, and Edward. Bea is pre-deceased by her husband Carl, her sons Darcy and Travis, and her brother Kenneth.

Growing up on the prairies in the 40s were hard times for most people. That said, things were a bit easier for her family because her Dad was skilled in trades, and her Mom worked and also sewed for people on the side. Their family moved to Spring Coulee (SW of Lethbridge) in 1950, and then to Medicine Hat in 1951.

Her Mother Johanna was an excellent seamstress, housekeeper and cook, and she taught Bea these skills at an early age. The first thing Bea sewed was a green, corduroy outfit at 12 years of age.  The fabric choice was significant because she often mentioned how difficult corduroy was to work with.  She even made her own buttons and was so proud of her accomplishment. 

Bea attended school in a convent and was encouraged to become a nun. Instead of this path, Bea marred the love of her life, Carl Zubot, at the age of 17.  Carl and Bea were busy starting their family, and operating C & T Trucking when they received an opportunity to own and operate a Stedmans store in Barrhead. Together they took the chance and moved to Barrhead in 1969; with 6 children under 10 years of age. From eldest to youngest they were: Darcy, Travis, Rodney (Desiree), Carla (Roger Gillies), Bryan (Donna), David (Nancy) and Dennis (Alanna). Bea was also blessed with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Bea worked very hard making her house a home and co-managing “the store”.  At work she had a keen talent for managing inventory, fashioning window displays, and creating floats for parades. At home she regularly sewed clothes for the family, and diligently crafted 3 meals a day. Despite cooking for eight, she did it with a smile and often set an extra plate or two for the kids’ friends. And the baking! Making lunches and desserts required making one or two cakes every day. Bea loved gardening, and playing bridge with the ladies in Barr Manor, and she was active in the community and the Catholic church. She taught catechism and designed and sewed costumes for community theatre and the school band program. 

Learning was always important to Bea. She would have loved to attend university; however, this was not in the cards for her.  Regardless, she was a voracious reader and a great role model for life learning.  If one showed interest, she would gladly teach you how to paint, wallpaper, cook, or sew. She was not afraid to try new things and was even known to co-write many high school & university essays.  She wasn’t strict, but may the Lord help you if you used her sewing scissors to cut paper.

In later years, Bea was active with Grandchildren and had more time for her own hobbies such as piano lessons. Her good friend Theresa started the “Barrhead Country Quilters” and Bea was very involved. They taught sewing skills to anyone who wanted to learn and spent time together in fellowship and creativity. She was highly skilled, artistic and very precise in her crafts.

Bea was a passionate cook and baker, and her recipes often called for “a pinch of this and a dash of that”. As a result, there were lots of phone calls requesting help to decipher her code. The code drove the kids crazy, so she committed to measuring her pinches and putting her recipes to paper. The cover page of her recipe book was prefaced with a story about how cooking for her family was never a chore, rather something she loved to do. She described her earliest memories of cooking on the farm, getting unexpected company, and going out to kill a couple chickens for supper. Here is a link to Mom’s recipe book, but if you use her recipes, you need to know that she did not take kindly to modifications!         beasrecipes.yukonwebsite.com

Beatrice was generous and led a selfless life of service and devotion to God, family, friends, and community. She tenderly supported her people by reminding us that we can and will prevail if we consider our plights as “our cross to bear”; modelling Jesus before us. In these past few years, it seems Bea carried her own cross. Now may her beautiful soul rest peacefully in the light.