Beatrice Renas

Beatrice Solow Misrok Renas was born in New York, NY on July 3, 1933, a first generation American born to Jewish immigrant parents who escaped persecution in Poland and Russia. She died on April 4, 2020, at home in Cary, North Carolina, at age 86 of natural causes. Her daughter Lisa was by her side while the rest of her family remained sheltered-in-place in their own homes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Known to family and friends as Bea, she grew up in Brooklyn, NY, graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School. After high school, she worked as a secretary in Manhattan before marrying in 1952. In 1957, she moved with her husband and her daughter, Fern to Meridian, Mississippi, where the couple had three more children, Mark, Michael, and Lisa. In 1964, the family moved to Mobile, Alabama, where Bea was active in the Temple Sisterhood of the Springhill Avenue Temple and Congregation Sha’arai Shomayim, and eventually became a licensed realtor. In 1973, Bea moved with her children to Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked many years for the Anti-Defamation League. There, Bea met Stanley Renas, Ph.D., and they were married in 1984. Over the course of their marriage, they lived in Chicago and Nashville before moving to Cary in 2010.

Social and warm, Bea’s life was marked by her many friendships and keen sense of humor, which she instilled across the generations of her family. From her high school days to her final years at Waltonwood in Cary, Bea had many friends and participated in numerous social activities. During her years living in Nashville, it was not uncommon to find Bea and her husband Stanley swing dancing on the lawn of the Parthenon on a Saturday night. Bea especially enjoyed playing and teaching Mahjong, engaging in intellectual discussions, and attending cultural events. In addition to socializing at home, Bea’s great love of travel took her and Stanley on trips to Italy, France, Spain, England, Israel, Mexico, and destinations across the United States, from Alaska to Florida. In her later years, Bea kept strong connections to family and friends through social media.

Bea is also remembered for her resilience, her civic engagement, and her ability to laugh through life’s storms. She weathered many challenges throughout her life, from learning English in kindergarten, to her father’s death when she was twelve, to being rescued by boat from her flooding home in Nashville in 2010. As a result of scarcity in her childhood, Bea carried a strong commitment to supporting organizations that feed those without adequate food and nutrition. Bea, a fan of RBG, continued her engagement with current events to the end of her life, and expressed her strongest hopes that the upcoming presidential election would bring a new administration. In her final days and in light of shortages and restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Bea quipped to her family that when she passed, her daughter Lisa deserved to get all of her toilet paper.

Above all, Bea is fondly remembered for the unending support she gave each member of her family. A fiercely devoted mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she cheered them on in whatever endeavors they pursued. She remained keenly interested and attuned to everyone’s projects and activities throughout her life, and celebrated every milestone, whether large or small.

Bea was preceded in death by her father Philip, her mother Ida, her brother Leonard, her son Michael, and her husband Stanley. She is survived by her daughter Fern Sutton (Jerry), her son Mark Misrok (Bill Smartt), her daughter Lisa Misrok (Peggi Hunter), grandchildren Ashli Arbo, Hilary Lagares, Talia Bender, Ellis Bender, and four great grandchildren.

A virtual funeral will take place on Monday, April 6th, a virtual shiva minyan that evening, and with a celebration of her life to take place once it is safe to assemble.

The family would like to thank Ashley Campau, Amber Golden, Claire Oliver, Maggie Pogorzelski, and Beatrice Onamu for the extraordinary care they gave our mother during these trying times.

In lieu of flowers, please send a donation in Bea’s memory to The InterFaith Food Shuttle in Raleigh to address hunger relief in these trying times.