Longtime Mineola resident and teacher, Beatrice Hubbard died on September 18. She was 106.
Born and raised in Coxsackie, N.Y., Hubbard taught business at Mineola High School for 35 years before retiring in 1967.
After graduating from Russel Sage College in Troy, N.Y. with a degree in secretarial studies, Hubbard earned a master of arts in from Columbia University.
In 1932, Hubbard began her long tenure at Mineola High School, finishing as head of the business department.
“They weren’t just students. They were lifelong friends,” said David Waters, her nephew.
He said a 96-year-old former student attended her funeral service at the Fairchild Funeral Home in Garden City on Sunday. She also regularly received letters from former students who lived across the country.
One of her former high school students was John DaVanzo, a former deputy mayor of Mineola.
DaVanzo said he established a lifelong friendship with Hubbard, visiting her regularly with a bouquet of flowers.
“She was great,” DaVanzo said.
He said he was sometimes accompanied on those visits by Village of Mineola Mayor Scott Strauss, who said Hubbard didn’t betray her age.
“I would never put her at her 106,” Strauss said. “She was talking up a storm, full of life and full of energy.”
Waters said his aunt followed current affairs, watching Brian Williams on NBC’s national news broadcast every night.
“It was remarkable how lucid she was and cognizant of everything,” Waters said.
He recalled his aunt as someone who enjoyed doing charitable and volunteer work and caring for her many friends and family.
“She was very giving,” he said. “She was always driving people around to pick up groceries and run errands.”
He also remembers her as a “fiercely independent” person who kept driving until she reached the age of 95.
She was one of the two founding members of the Faith Evangelical Church in Garden City. And she was among the last congregants at its final service before the church dissolved last month, her nephew said.
Through her 46 years in retirement, she was very involved with the Salvation Army, the Interfaith Nutrition Network, AARP, and many other charitable organizations.
“She never wanted to throw anything away. She was always aware of the need,” Waters said.
He said his aunt was also a member of three bridge clubs, attending American Association of University Women or Garden City Women’s Club activities, or meeting up with other retired teachers.
“She was involved in so many social activities, I think that’s what kept her going,” he said.
Hubbard was interested in politics and remained a staunch Republican until the age of 102, when she voted for President Barack Obama.
She lived independently in her apartment in Mineola until she fell and broke her arm three years ago when she received the help of live-in health aides. Waters said he honored her wishes not to live in an assisted living facility.
In 2006, when Hubbard and the Village of Mineola both celebrated their 100th year, she was the grand marshal for the Mineola Centennial Celebration parade.
Waters, and his wife Suzanne are her sole survivors.
He and his wife requested memorial donations be made to: The Salvation Army at 194 Front St., Hempstead, 11550 and the INN, 211 Fulton Avenue, Hempstead, 11550.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204. Also follow us on Twitter @theislandnow1 and Facebook at facebook.com/theislandnow.
