Eleanor Bez

Eleanor Bez (nee Pierce) 100, of Weehawken, N.J. and Prescott Valley, Ariz., died on Tuesday, February 7, 2023.

She will be remembered as a kind soul who had a song in her heart for all who encountered her along the path of life.

She was born in Jersey City, N.J. in 1922, the daughter of Anna and William Charles Pierce. She married Harry A. Bez on April 19, 1947, in Hillsdale, N.J.

Surviving are her five adult children and their spouses: Gregory Bez and wife Jeanne of Prescott Valley, Ariz., Joel Bez and wife Cathy of Phoenix, Ariz., Marianne Bez and husband Michael Jerome of Cooperstown, N.Y., Anthony Bez, of Weehawken, N.J., and Edward Bez and wife Michelle Marie of Hurricane, W.V. She is also survived by four granddaughters: Melissa Bez Cheatham and husband Chris of Overland Park, Kan., Anastasia Bez and Madeline Bez, of Newark, N.J. and Eleanna Bez, Seattle, Wash., and two great-grandsons, Stone and Ben Cheatham of Overland Park, Kan. She leaves behind many nieces and nephews whom she loved as her own, and her special niece Joyce Bernarducci of Asbury Park, N.J.

She is predeceased by her husband and parents, and her 12 brothers and sisters: Aloysius, Anne (Austin), Arthur, Dorothy, Elizabeth (Fanner), Florence (Murphy), Joseph, Lucille, Raymond, Rita, William, and Barbara (Rogich).

A lifelong resident of Hudson County, she raised her family in Weehawken, N.J. She spent her final year in Prescott Valley, Ariz., experiencing loving care from her son Greg and his wife Jeanne. She and her husband Harry, lived in Athens Greece from 1977-1982. She enjoyed visiting family members throughout the U.S. and traveled to many other countries.

Eleanor loved music and dancing all her life. She was a professional entertainer in the late 1930s and early 1940s under the stage name Honey Lee at clubs in the New York metropolitan area and on radio. During W.W. II, she met her future husband while working in quality testing at the Sperry Gyroscope Company in Brooklyn.

In 1971, she achieved her dream to become a nurse, graduating as class valedictorian from the Jersey City School of Nursing as an L.P.N. She was very proud to be part of the profession and was highly regarded for her tender care of patients. In addition to working as an in-home caregiver, she worked at Englewood Hospital, Englewood, the office of Sidney Katz, M.D., North Bergen, at the Lutheran Home and Pollak Hospital, in Jersey City. While living in Greece, she was a volunteer nurse for the American Red Cross at Hellenikon Air Base in Athens, Greece (1977-1982).

Throughout her life she was active in many community organizations and in providing voluntary assistance to her church and the schools her children attended. Among the organizations to which she committed many years of service are the Rosary Society of St. Augustine’s R.C. Church, Union City, St. Augustine’s School Parent-Teachers Association, Power Memorial High School, New York, N.Y., Parent-Teachers Association, the Weehawken Housing Authority (Commissioner 1992-2021), St. Lawrence R.C. Church, Weehawken, (Eucharist Minister and lector). She was acknowledged many times for her volunteer service and was most proud to be named Weehawken Township Senior of the Year in 1996 and to be recognized by Mayor Richard Tuner and the commissioners for 21 years of service on the Weehawken Housing Authority.

The funeral will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023, at St. Lawrence R.C. Church, Weehawken, N.J. Calling hours will be held at Leber Funeral Home, Union City, N.J., on Thursday, February 23, 2023 from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Immediately following the funeral, she will be buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, North Arlington, N.J. In lieu of flowers, please donate to a favorite charity in Eleanor’s name.

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Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.leber-fh.com for the Bez family.