Beverly Cox Karantza

PORTLAND – Beverly Cox Karantza, 92, died peacefully on Saturday, April 15, 2023 at Piper Shores with her loving family by her side.

Beverly Ruth Winkler was born on Nov. 24, 1930 at the Maine Eye and Ear Infirmary in Portland, the only child of Waldo Wellington Winkler and Maxine Sadie (Spinney) Winkler. She attended Portland schools and graduated from Deering High School, class of 1948. She attended Northeastern Business College in Portland and in 1950 was hired as a secretary to principal Roland E. Stevens of Lincoln Junior High. Shortly afterwards, she became the first school secretary to Mr. Stevens at the new Helen M. King Junior High School when it opened.

During the 1940’s she was active in three orchestras, including the Portland Symphony, playing the violin. Always enjoying music, she sang in the First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church choir for 33 years and received a sterling silver bracelet for her service. She was a soloist, and she spread her love of music to her children, who were often involved, sometimes even willingly, in church musicals and holiday events.

Her choir singing then took her to the North Windham Congregational Church, where she sang for ten years. She also attended the Women’s Guild and was its Secretary and President for many years. She was involved in the Senior Citizen’s group, worked at the Church’s Thrift Shop, and helped with meals and entertainment at the church.

In her life, singing and God were two circles whose center was everywhere. After first attending Clark Memorial Church as a child who sang in the junior choir in the 1930’s, she returned to that Methodist church in the 1980s, the 1990s, and again 2001, where she sang in the senior choir, served as President of the woman’s group (Makaria), and participated in many church activities until it closed in 2015.

Beverly married Frederick Miller Cox on June 23, 1951 at the First Parish Unitarian- Universalist Church in Portland and their children were christened there. Together with Fred they had four children, Jay (who predeceased her in 2014), Wayne (Lourdes), Sibyl, and Linda (John); grandchildren Matt, Rosemarie, Marina, Clara, and Jaeden; and great granddaughter Amaya. She will be greatly missed by all of her children, grandchildren, great grandchild, and lifelong friends Bessie Lund and Roberta Babbage (Bobbi).

In 1984 her husband Fred died, and she later remarried Angelus Karantza of Windham, where they resided for 23 years. She had three step-children and two step-grandchildren, Alex and Zachary.

She was a member of the Woman’s Woodfords Club in Portland for many years, becoming President in 2004. She enjoyed traveling the U.S. visiting her children, taking many bus trips with Angelus around the Northeast, and traveling to Israel, Spain, and Greece. She lived in Portland for over 70 years.

Beverly had many wonderful qualities—among them, a playful sense of humor and a contagious laugh that made fast friends wherever the circles of her life took her. From the beginning of her life in school to the choir loft in the middle and the hospital at the end, those who cared for her felt that care in return, those who were loyal received loyalty in return, and those who were authentic received authenticity. She lived in the present and didn’t preach to the choir but sung from it, sharing her joy of the music at hand with her friends and family. “You know what I have learned?” she once said. “You can’t look for something that is not there.”

The family would like to acknowledge the staff and caregivers at The Park Danforth, Maine Medical Center, and Piper Shores/Hospice of Southern Maine.

Visiting hours celebrating Beverly’s life will be held from 2-4 p.m., Friday, April 21, at Conroy-Tully Walker Funeral Home, 172 State St. Portland, ME. Service immediately following at 4 p.m. in the Chapel. Burial will be private. To view Beverly’s memorial page, or to leave an online condolence, please visit http://www.ConroyTullyWalker.com

Those who wish may make memorial contributions in Beverly’s memory to:

Maine State Society for the Protection of Animals

279 River Rd.

Windham, ME 04062