Obituary: Beatrice Mouganis / Sewickley philanthropist, supporter of the arts
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Beatrice Mouganis, a philanthropist and Republican committeewoman from Sewickley, had such a strong Christian faith that, soon after a diagnosis of terminal cancer, she threw a party to tell her friends how much she loved them.
"Bea sat in a chair, where people could come sit beside her in a sort of receiving line, and hold her hand and look into her eyes and say good-bye. And she gave us inspirational advice," said Nancy Lee Cochran, one of 150 friends to attend.
Mrs. Mouganis died Monday, two months after the party. She was 84.
Born in Pittsburgh, her parents split up when she was 5 and she was raised mostly in Shaler, said her daughter, Janet Helms, of Franklin Park. A voracious reader, she questioned everything and considered herself an atheist when she enrolled at Thiel College.
But a religion professor at the Lutheran school answered her questions and led her to an unwavering Christian faith. She also fell in love with another student in the same religion class, John N. Mouganis.
From Thiel she went to Carnegie Tech as a graduate student in theater. But when her future husband asked her to choose between marriage and the stage, she never looked back.
"She never had any resentment or a feeling that she had sacrificed," Mrs. Helms said. "She had a high emotional I.Q. She just lived where she was and embraced it."
Her husband built a successful insurance and financial business in an era when all of the agents were men. Mrs. Mouganis reached out to their wives, helping them keep their marriages strong by understanding and supporting their husbands' work.
"I don't know how she knew how to do it. She never had an example," Mrs. Helms said.
She was active in Republican politics, serving as a committeewoman. She was also an avid supporter of the arts, with season tickets to the opera, ballet, symphony and many other cultural organizations.
"She frequently made sure that those who couldn't afford to go to such events got tickets," Ms. Cochran said.
She was quietly generous, especially with causes in which her family was involved. She supported Teen Mania, a Christian youth outreach that one of her grandsons serves in, and Love & Care Family International, a Christian orphanage in Uganda that Mrs. Helms helped to found.
She fostered a strong faith in her children, and also led her own parents to a far deeper faith than they had had in her childhood. She and her husband were founding members of Christ Church at Grove Farm, an independent church with Anglican roots. She taught Sunday school most of her adult life and volunteered for Meals on Wheels.
Her husband died in 2004.
In May she learned she had advanced abdominal cancer.
"She said, 'Janet, don't worry about me. I'm ready to go. God has been preparing me. I understand now why I have been having dreams of heaven,' " her daughter said.
A week later she told her daughter she wanted to give a party to tell her friends how much they meant to her. Mrs. Helms was initially perplexed about how to decorate, but opted for a picture of Jesus and a banner with his words, "I am the way and the truth and the life."
At the end of the party, Mrs. Mouganis asked a musician to play "So Long Ago and Far Away," which she and her husband had loved. One of the guests asked to dance with her.
"Spontaneously, people formed a circle around her and started to dance with her. We played that song probably about 15 times. This was the last time people were going to see her, and she was dancing with them," Mrs. Helms said.
"I think of that as her gift to other people, to be able to face death and embrace the time you have."
In addition to her daughter, she is survived by a son, John C. Mouganis of Franklin Park; another daughter, Nancy Wehrheim of McCandless; a sister, Margaret Overholt, of Ligonier; and eight grandchildren.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today and tomorrow at Simons Funeral Home in Ross. The funeral is Saturday in Christ Church at Grove Farm, Ohio Township.
Memorial contributions may be made to Teen Mania, P.O. Box 2000, Garden Valley, TX 75771.
First Published July 30, 2009 12:00 am
