Patricia (Trish) McKay Bellwoar (Beezer) died December 3, 2021.
Born January 29, 1937 in Bellefonte, PA, Trish lived most of her life in Berwyn, PA and Ocean City, NJ. She is survived by her husband of 62 years, Joseph, children Linda Schalles (Ted), Joseph Jr, (Rose), David (Shawn), Steven (Dawna), Judy Huvos (Phil) and grandchildren Hannah, Patrick, Joseph III, Griffin, Julia, Benjamin, Kevin, Bridget, Nicole, Ben, Riley, Sadie, Kyra, and Henry. She is also survived by sisters Sally Shirk, Betsy Fetzer, and Georgie Healy and predeceased by her sister MaryAnne Fleming and brother Herbert (Mickey) Beezer.
Trish attended Bellefonte High School and worked for the telephone company. She played the piano, organ, and flute and loved to sing. In the summer of 1957, she visited a friend in Ocean City, NJ, and ended up at the legendary Tony Marts in Somers Point, NJ, where she met her future husband Joe (who famously fell for the line, “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?”). After Joe graduated from Penn State, he enlisted in the army and was stationed in Frankfurt, Germany. Trish had never been on a plane, but knew she wanted to marry Joe, and the two made plans to meet in Basel, Switzerland, where they married with little fanfare in the Church of the Black Madonna; their wedding photo on the back of a postcard. They lived in Kasel, Germany and started a family. After Joe’s military service, the family settled in Berwyn, PA, where they raised five children and spent summers in Ocean City, NJ. Trish and Joe co-founded Colonial Electric Supply where she managed the payroll and he sold electrical supplies. Today, Colonial is a successful family business with locations up and down the east coast.
Trish was a member of St. Norbert’s parish, Aronimink Golf Club, Atlantic City Country Club, BigHorn Golf Club in California, and the Ocean City Yacht Club. She loved bridge, tennis, golf, sailing, skiing, traveling, and spending time with her 14 grandchildren. She was luminous, unpretentious, relaxed and did her own thing. She was musically gifted, a natural athlete, loved dime-store romance novels, and could tell a wicked joke.
In her late 50s, Trish was diagnosed with FTD, also known as frontotemporal degeneration or Pick’s disease. FTD is the most common dementia diagnosed before age 60. Joe became her sole caretaker until age 70 when she entered an assisted living facility in Galloway, NJ and resided there for nearly 15 years. Joe visited everyday and hired additional staff to ensure Trish had the best care.
A celebration of life is planned for Summer 2022. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Association of Frontotemporal Degeneration (www.theaftd.org) or visit the Colonial Electric AFTD fundraising page. https://www.classy.org/fundraiser/3400943. For condolences to the family, visit www.godfreyfuneralhome.com
