Beatrice Grace Zienkosky, 90, formerly of Richardson, Texas, went to be with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, January 19, 2025, at The Park in Plano nursing home, Plano, Texas.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 am Monday, February 3rd, 2025 in St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Decatur, Illinois. Visitation will be from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m., Sunday, February 2nd, 2025, and will begin with a Divine Mercy Chaplet in Seitz Funeral Home, Moweaqua, Illinois. Burial will be in Westside Cemetery, Moweaqua, Illinois.

Beatrice "Bea" was born on September 6, 1934, in Columbus, Indiana, the daughter of Laben Franklin and Elizabeth Blanche (Alexander) Bowling. She was the last of four siblings: brother Laben, sister Josephine, and sister Joan. Their father disappeared when Bea was four years old, never to return. It was a lifelong sorrow for her as she searched in vain to uncover what had been his fate.

Her fondest childhood memory was of the year she and her brother went to live with their maternal grandparents, Joseph and Ida Alexander. There they lived for a time on a farm in the mountains where they played in the streams and woods while enjoying the many facets of farm life. After that year, they returned to live in Indiana with their mother.

When Bea was 16, she left home and moved to Decatur Illinois where she took a job at the Walgreens drug store working as a waitress. It wasn't long before her determination and beauty landed her a job at Stewart's department store, where she sold cosmetics. She did some modeling for clients and was included in a style show with an appearance by the then current Miss America, Lea Ann Meriwether.

She was about to go to cosmetology school when she met her future husband, John Eugene Zienkosky. She and her friends were doing what teenagers do, riding about in cars (cruising) in Decatur when she saw a young Marine with blond hair and blue eyes. Before long they were married. The union endured for twenty years and at the end of John's life, they had become friends.

During that marriage, she lived in Hawaii, Lancaster, CA, Cedar Rapids, IA, Rome, NY, and San Antonio, TX, finally landing in Dallas, TX in 1969.

In the 1970s, after her marriage, Bea was proud to be one of the first women car salesmen in Dallas. She won two salesman of the year awards and blazed the trail for others to follow.

While she worked in many fields after that, the one vocation she truly loved was that of wife and mother. She made a wonderful home for her children with her skill at cooking and crafts and her gentle guidance of her family.

Beatrice became a member of the Catholic Church in 1953 at St. Patrick's in Decatur. At the end of her life, she was a former member of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Dallas, Texas. She was an ardent Pro-Life supporter and helped many young women as a counselor at The White Rose pregnancy center in Dallas. She was devoted to the Divine Mercy and credited the Chaplet with many miracles, including forgiveness between herself and her former husband.

She wanted it to be known that "of all the things I have accomplished, the most rewarding has been being a mother and a grandmother, returning to my church and being a Pro Life Counselor for the unborn to have a chance at life".

Surviving is her son: John J. Zienkosky, of Mt. Zion, IL; daughter: Cynthia S. (Randy) Smith, of Richardson, TX; grandchildren: Taylor (TJ), Elizabeth (Betsy), Katey, Alexander (Alex), Emily, Jessica, and Jacob; and ten great grandchildren.

Preceding her in death were her parents, brother, and two sisters.

Seitz Funeral Home, Moweaqua has been entrusted with the care and service arrangements.

Obituary was written by the family and condolences for the family may be left at www.seitzfh.com.

In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation or Feeding America.