Bea and Skipper

Bea on right, and her sister

"Beatrice Elizabeth Edwards Lutz
May 29, 1915 – January 1, 2013
Resident of Fremont, CA
Beatrice Elizabeth Edwards Lutz, age 97, of Fremont, California passed away of natural causes and
went to be with her Lord on January 1, 2013. Beatrice was born May 29, 1915 to Steve and Zana
Edwards, in Ephrata, Pennsylvania.
As a young girl, Beatrice attended school at a one-room schoolhouse dating from the 1700's, that
still stands today on the grounds of the olde Ephrata Cloisters, a National Historic Landmark, in
Lancaster County, PA.
During the Great Depression hard times fell upon Bea's family. At the young age of 15 she was
forced to quit school and look for work. She took the only thing available, an entry-level seamstress
position at the Walter Moyer Shirt Factory in Ephrata. Much to her dismay, with parents and a sister
to help support, Bea was not ever able to return to school and graduate high school.
After many years at the shirt factory, Bea met and married Robert P. Lutz of Lititz, Pennsylvania, at
the Church of the Nazarene in Ephrata, in 1943. WWII was raging. New husband Bob was soon
drafted into the U.S. Army. Bea joined him during his basic training at Fort Barrancas, in Pensacola,
Florida. Bea gave birth there to their only child, Robert P. Lutz, Jr., at Pensacola, in 1944. The Army
then sent husband Bob off to Japan. With a young son in tow, Bea returned to Lancaster County for
the duration of the war.
After WWII the young family migrated north to New England in 1946 where husband Bob enrolled
at Eastern Nazarene College near Quincy, Massachusetts, courtesy of the G.I. Bill. Beatrice supported
husband Bob thru college by working at America's first Howard Johnson restaurant and ice cream
store on Quincy Square. Over the years while on the swing shift, Bea became a trusted confidant and
friend of Mr. Johnson and became Howard's ‘closer' at 11:00 pm each night. Son Robert vividly
recalls many long drives in to town late at night with his father to pick up his mother after work, and
often being offered the ice cream of his choice, gratis, by the kind old gentleman behind the counter,
Howard Johnson, the founder himself.
In 1951 husband Bob graduated Eastern Nazarene College and became an ordained minister with
the Church of the Nazarene.
Across the years the couple and son served at churches in various villages and towns throughout
New England, and later west-central Pennsylvania, and finally on to California in 1959 where they
served in San Francisco while awaiting a Nazarene missionary assignment to Japan; a people that Rev.
Lutz had befriended and come to love during his military service with General MacArthur in the
Pacific.
Bea is survived by a step-daughter Roberta Jean Schmid, of Lititz, PA, and grand-children Ted, Brett,
and Adessa Jean of Lancaster County, PA. Bea is also survived by her son Bob, Jr., and his wife
Sharon of Hayward, California, and grandsons Scott & Terry Dornath of Hayward, as well as a dozen
or more great-grandchildren, and half a dozen great-great grandchildren, all widely scattered from
coast to coast.
Bea was preceded in death in 1991 by her beloved husband of 48 years, Rev. Robert P. Lutz, a
retired Nazarene pastor. In retirement he also served many years as caretaker at the Blake Garden
Estate in Kensington, California, the gated residence of the University of California president.
Bea was also preceded in death by her only sibling, a younger sister, Margaret Arlene Edwards
Stiegler Van de Water, of Wilmington, Delaware, and a former resident of Eagle River, Alaska.
Despite a fierce independent streak, Bea was well liked and loved by all who met her. She spent her
last remaining years at a well regarded nursing home in Fremont, California, assisted by a wonderful
hospice staff.
Beatrice was a member of the Church of the Nazarene for nearly 75 years. In lieu of flowers, please
consider a memorial contribution to Fremont Journey of Faith, a Church of the Nazarene, 39009
Cindy Street, Fremont, CA 94538. A memorial service is scheduled for 11:00 am, Saturday, January
12, 2013."
Written by Robert Lutz Jr