SOUTHWEST HARBOR – Prudence (Benson) Beal, known to all as Prue, passed away June 20, 2012, with family at her side at a Bar Harbor nursing facility. She was born Feb. 6, 1920, in Bernard, the eldest daughter of Ralph and Eva (Wooster) Benson.
She attended Southwest Harbor’s Pemetic High School, class of 1939, where on the first day of high school she met classmate and future husband, Elmer “Buzzie” Beal of Manset.
After graduation in 1939, she briefly took a job as housekeeper in Massachusetts, but soon returned home. Family lore is unclear whether she missed Mount Desert Island or Buzzie more. Prue and Buzzie were married Nov. 3, 1940, and again took winter housekeeping employment in southern New England, this time in Connecticut, where Prue cooked and Buzzie chauffeured. This situation did not last long as Prue and Buzzie started their own family and wanted to be home on Mount Desert Island to which they soon returned. Four children were born during the next five years. When the children were young she converted their home on High Road into a bed and breakfast, before anyone knew what that was, and named it Singing Hill. As the children grew she took various other jobs outside the home, including tending the soda fountain at the drug store, cooking for a summer family, cooking at a hotel on Little Cranberry Island, assessor for the town of Southwest Harbor and bookkeeper for H. R. Beal & Sons. She baked an unknown numbers of pies and other delectable edibles for church suppers and fundraisers for various non-profits around the island. Prue was an active member of Southwest Harbor United Church of Christ, serving as Sunday school superintendent, Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout den mother and later attended Tremont Congregational Church, where she was a member of Ladies Aid since she was a girl. Her chief interest throughout her life was caring for her family, and following and participating in the activities of her children, their children, grandchildren, and the many, many friends she made along the way. She especially enjoyed traveling with Buzzie to Casey Key on the west coast of Florida, where they would spend a month or more with friends from all throughout the country. She also looked forward to friends from near and far visiting in Southwest Harbor. There was always room for more at the dinner table no matter how many showed up unexpectedly. For many years she organized the family Fourth of July picnic at Molasses Pond and the energy from that annual event will be self-sustaining for many years to come. She also felt it was important to care for family members who were in need of help and served as end-of-life caregiver in her own home on several occasions.
Prue is survived by her sons, Kenneth and wife, Helen, of Gloucester, Mass., and Southwest Harbor, Elmer and wife, Alison Martin, of Otter Creek; daughter, Suzanne and husband, Peter Madeira, of Bernard; and special daughter-in-law, Mary Beal of Southwest Harbor. There are 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased in 2010 by her husband of 70 years; and in 2011 by her son, Samuel. She was also predeceased by her sisters, Marilyn Coombs and Rosamond Pinchetti.
Services will be held 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, at Tremont Congregational Church with the Rev. Dr. Wayne Buchanan officiating. Contributions in Prue’s memory are suggested to Friends of Acadia, P.O. Box 45, Bar Harbor, ME 04609. Arrangements by Jordan-Fernald, 1139 Main St., Mount Desert. Condolences may be expressed at
www.jordanfernald.com.