Beatrice Antley

Beatrice Antley died on July 5, 2017 at the age of 102. She was a mother, wife and sister, devoted to her family and church throughout her life. She was a good, sweet, hard-working lady who loved many and was loved and respected in return. She will be missed by her family and those who knew her.

Known to her friends as Bea, she was born Oct. 21, 1914 in Berkeley Co., SC, near the town of Moncks Corner. Her parents were George Murray and Ethel Murray. Her father died when she was 4, after which Bea, her mother and her brothers lived with her grandparents on a small farm. Like so many in the Deep South at that time, the family had no money for niceties and children were expected to work and do what they could to help with household chores. After several years, her mother remarried Gussie DeHay. Bea graduated from Moncks Corner High School during the Depression, one of the first in her family to graduate from high school, and began working as a secretary, work she would continue until her retirement.

In the late ‘30s, Bea met her husband, Marion Antley, while he was working on the Santee-Cooper River Dam Project outside of Moncks Corner. They married shortly before the US entered World War II and spent the war years travelling over the Eastern United States as Marion’s employer built air bases for the military. Shortly after the war, they settled in Charlotte, NC, where they had one son, Kenneth (“Kent”) Antley, were active in their church, and lived until the early ‘80s. Then they retired back to Moncks Corner, SC.

Bea’s life centered on family and home, work and church, much in that order. If Bea had any foibles, they were few, sporadic and minor, such as a mild cuss word uttered when she thought no one would hear. After working a full day and preparing dinner, she would spend the evening while watching a show or two on television, snapping or shelling beans from the garden, cutting dried fruit to make fruitcake for Christmas or preparing food for a future meal. There were many weekend trips to visit family in South Carolina, including a beloved brother who was institutionalized after serving in Patton’s Army in World War II. Vacations were usually a long weekend at the beach or in the mountains. There was always a week’s vacation spent with Bea’s mother, step-father and sister, Gussie Lee, where more beans would be picked, snapped, shelled and canned. After her son and nephews and nieces were grown, Bea took a couple of long trips, one to England and one to Alaska with her sister and a beloved niece, Carole Kjellsen. Bea and Marion were careful with their money, saved any dollars remaining after expenses were paid, and enabled their son to go to an excellent, private college.

After Marion died in 1996, Bea continued to live in Moncks Corner until 2004, when her health required her to move to Atlanta into assisted living, and later into a nursing home. Her last years, with failing health, were hard on Bea, but true to her nature, she did not complain and bore her burdens with grace and dignity. She always was gracious and appreciative to those who visited her and received respect and much affection from her caregivers.

Bea is pre-deceased by her husband, Marion, two older brothers, Kenneth Murray and Carlyle Murray, and her younger sister, Gussie Lee Ashman. She is survived by her son, Kenneth Antley and daughter-in-law, Barbara Antley, grandchildren John Evans, Trey Evans and Christopher Antley, and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family is planning a small graveside service in Eutawvile, SC, at a time to be announced. Donations in Bea’s name may be made either to the First Baptist Church, 112 Main Street, Moncks Corner, SC 29461 or to Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church, 1660 North Decatur Road, Atlanta, GA 30307.

Feel free to leave the family your condolences via the guestbook provided.