Regina "Jean" Beatty passed away peacefully at her home in Arnold, MD. She spent her last days celebrating Christmas with her family and sharing stories of gratitude and wonder at the blessings she and her husband Bill (deceased 2023) enjoyed.

Jean was a woman of faith and family, and lived a life full of fierce dedication to both. She was the sixth of seven children born to Mae and Walter Lion, in Philadelphia, PA. She met her husband, William "Bill" Beatty, when he was a student at Penn, and their dating years revolved around her playing piano at his college gatherings. Music brought her great joy throughout her life and continued through her last days when she played the harp at a Christmas concert and led a family sing-along around her grand piano.`

Jean married Bill Beatty in 1958 and shared an amazingly supportive and loving marriage for 65 years until Bill’s death in 2023. Jean and Bill had four children whom they raised in New Cumberland, PA. Eleven grandchildren joined the fold, and Jean was extremely proud of their accomplishments. Jean loved their annual vacation to Cape May, NJ where she and Bill hosted the entire extended family. Fun days on the beach, Fourth of July parades, Rotary pancake breakfasts, gin and tonics on the front porch with friends and family, ice cream on the boardwalk, and Sunday Mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea, all brought her joy. They lost their oldest son Bill Jr., and with broken hearts, but never broken spirits, continued their lives of prayer and service to each other, their family, and their community. Jean continued her daily mass attendance, begun in her childhood, until her last weeks.

Her faith and passion for social justice fueled her commitment to rally volunteers to help others. Together with a small group of friends, she began Channels Food Rescue, which was initially developed to redistribute excess restaurant meals to food shelters, and evolved to address hunger in many creative ways. Jean’s entrepreneurial work earned her many awards from civic organizations and her beloved Penn State. Jean was extremely concerned about the less fortunate, while remaining eternally optimistic, absolutely sure that the power of goodness would overcome.

Jean is survived by her daughter-in-law Krista Beatty, daughters Nancy Beatty Gregoire (Bruce) and Gail Beatty Davis (Emmett), and son James Beatty (Carol), as well as eleven grandchildren and a great granddaughter: Taylor (Sean), Brooke, Erin (Andrew, and daughter Blair), Annemarie, Emmett (Taylor), Elise, Alexa, Shane, Jack, Brian, and Brendan.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. John Neumann Church in Annapolis, MD at 10:30 AM on Friday, January 9, followed by a celebratory lunch at the Atrium on the premises.

A Livestream of Mass may be found at: https://sjnlivestream.livecontrol.tv/dc53d7f5