Mrs. Alma U. Beer

June 27, 1920 - July 25, 2020

Mrs. Alma U. Beer, 100, passed away on Saturday, July 25, 2020 in Lee, MA. Born in Pittsfield, MA, on June 27, 1920, the daughter of German immigrants, the late Alma Pastanier Uhlig and Edmund Uhlig, owner of the U. S. Beef Company (bought by Wohrle’s Food) in Pittsfield. Alma began and ended her life as a resident of Pittsfield. She attended Pittsfield schools until college. She spent two years at Russell Sage College, Troy, NY, and finished her BA at Marshall University, Huntington, WV, where she met the love of her life, Stephen P. Beer. Married on January 23, 1943, Alma and Steve spent over 68 years together, living in the East and the Midwest for his work in the United Way. In 1959 they settled in Eastchester, NY, where they finished raising their four children and where Alma earned a master’s in Education at the College of New Rochelle. She taught the first grade for 16 years at the Anne Hutchinson School, Eastchester, where she enjoyed many friends and colleagues. In 1988, 50 years after her high school graduation, Alma and Steve returned to Pittsfield to live as some of the first residents of the Salisbury Estates retirement community. They were active pioneers in creating the community and activities there and enjoyed decades with good friends and neighbors. In addition to participating in Salisbury programs and games, Alma was active as a volunteer reader in Pittsfield Elementary Schools, and a beloved member of the Zion Lutheran Church and the Pittsfield PEO Sisterhood Chapter F. Alma was predeceased by her husband Steve (2011), her mother and father, and her brother Edmund Jr. (1933). She is survived by her sons: Richard Beer and wife Ellen Higgins; Thomas Beer and wife Linda Thompson; Christopher Beer and wife Deborah Beer; daughter: Jennifer Beer; her six grandchildren: Connie Higgins-Beer; Katharine Alma Higgins-Beer; Michael Beer and wife Ramela Ouzounian Beer; David Beer and wife Rachelle Beer; Courtney Beer and husband Jarred Panger; and Delaney Beer and partner Erica Chavez; and her two great- grandchildren: James Van Beer and Lexi Elisabeth Panger. The family would like to extend their appreciation for the wonderful care and compassion from caregivers of Home Instead Senior Care of Pittsfield and Lee Health Care, especially the Memory Unit of the Landing at Laurel Lake. Funeral Notice: Funeral services for Mrs. Alma U. Beer will be on conducted on-line Sunday, August 2, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., with the Rev. Anna Woofenden of Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield, officiating. For information about the service and to access livestreaming of the service, please visit https://zionlutheranpittsfield.org/. Burial services will follow on Monday, August 3, 2020 at 9:30am at Pittsfield Cemetery, 203 Wahconah St, Pittsfield, MA 01201. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in her memory to Zion Lutheran Church of Pittsfield; Berkshire United Way; or Pittsfield PEO Sisterhood Chapter F, in care of the Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home, 220 East Street, Pittsfield, MA 01201. Donations CANNOT be made online, but may be made through the Dwyer-Wellington Funeral Home.