Beatrice Tolle, 91

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Longtime resident and business owner Beatrice (Bea) Tolle of Cedarhurst, died on Nov. 29 at the age of 91. She died peacefully at home after a long battle with breast cancer, and was surrounded by her three children Norman (Leanne) of East Rockaway, Meryl (Alexander) of East Rockaway, Robert (Ellen) of Cedarhurst, eight grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.
Tolle was born on Nov. 9, 1923 and raised with six brothers and sisters in the Brownsville-East New York section of Brooklyn. It was there at age twelve that she met her future husband, Morty. They were married in September of 1943 when he was home on a two-day pass from the Army Air Corps.
After the war, the couple lived with Morty’s parents on Thatford Avenue in Brooklyn, and had their first two children there, Norman and Meryl. In 1949 they bought their home in Cedarhurst where their third child, Robert, was born.
Morty and Bea opened their decorating and reupholstering store, Central Showroom, in 1959 at the corner of Columbia and Central avenues in Cedarhurst. After a few years at that location, they purchased and expanded the building across Central Avenue where Toddy’s now stands. They remained in business until 1978 when they sold the property to Witte Jewelers. Stricken with Alzheimer’s, Morty resided in the East Rockaway Nursing Home until his death in 1984 at age 62. Bea visited him there everyday.
At this time, she also became involved as a volunteer with the newly-formed Long Island Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association handling their memorial donations.
After Morty died, Bea worked in sales at GB Jewelry on Central Avenue in Cedarhurst. Being a naturally warm and friendly person, sales was a perfect fit for her. Several years later, after GB Jewelers closed, she secured another sales job at Look Twice, a consignment store in Rockville Centre.
During her last few years, she spent her time enjoying her grandchildren and great grandchildren, reading, shopping, going for walks and keeping in touch with family and friends.