Beatrice L. Nelligan, a lifelong resident of Wassaic, NY, passed away on February 21, 2014 after a short stay at Geer Rehabilitation Center in Canaan, CT.
Bea was born at home on August 6, 1917 in Poughkeepsie NY and was the only child of Olga Hansen Liner and Gail B. Liner. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Wassaic, where her father was the Wassaic postmaster for decades. Affectionately known as “Bea”, she was a 1935 graduate of Amenia High School and a 1939 graduate of Vassar Nursing School.
In 1940, she married James (Jimmy) Nelligan of Amenia. She worked as a nurse at Sharon Hospital in Sharon, CT while assisting Jimmy in establishing the Nelligan Funeral Home in Wassaic, NY until Jimmy went to the Pacific to serve as a United States Army Quartermaster. Upon his return in 1945, she resumed working as a private duty nurse work and assisted Jimmy with operating the funeral home.
Bea and Jimmy also operated a small luncheonette in Wassaic in the early 1950's with baking help from Bea’s mother. They operated both businesses until the late 1960’s and then she and Jimmy worked at the Wassaic Developmental Center where Bea worked as night charge nurse until her retirement. She was a member of the Wassaic Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary and a generous supporter of the Gridley (Presbyterian) Chapel in Wassaic and the Amenia United Presbyterian Church throughout her life.
Bea is survived by her two children, Sally Nelligan Leafe of Wassaic and Patrick Nelligan of Amenia and four grandchildren: Sally's daughter, Marilyn Goulette Yerks of Sharon CT and her son, Fredrick Goulette of Clinton Corners, NY and Patrick's two daughters, Dr. Kerry Nelligan of Boston, MA and Erin Nelligan McNally of Chelmsford, MA. She is also survived by her only great-grandchild, Rachel Olga Yerks, also of Sharon CT.
Memorial services and interment will be announced in the spring. Donations in Bea's memory may be made to the Gridley Chapel Fund, 36 Furnace Bank Rd., Wassaic, NY 12592 or the Wassaic Fire Company Ladies Auxiliary Firehouse Rd., Wassaic, NY 12592. Arrangements are under the direction of Hufcut Funeral Home, 3159 Route 22, Dover Plains, NY.

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