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Erica Dawn Beal
Erica Dawn Beal of Oak Island, North Carolina and formerly of Sag Harbor, died peacefully on January 18. She was 97.
The daughter of Dr. Eric Stewart Marshall, the physician and cartographer on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s pioneering five-man expedition to the Antarctic in 1908, she was born in Farnborough, England, on February 10, 1925, growing up there and in more remote Kenya, West Africa. Her maternal grandfather, Sir William Treacher, was the first English governor of Borneo.
She graduated from Battle Abbey School, in Bath, England. At the outbreak of World War II, she joined the Wrens women’s service corps. Emigrating to the United States in 1950, with her first husband Peter Mends, she embarked on a vibrant American-flavored lifestyle.
In all, she was married four times. One betrothal was to Robert Rowe, an inventor and entrepreneur who perfected the small electric motors used in slot cars and other devices. She was additionally wed to Dr. Homer Beal and Douglas Smith, both predeceasing her.
She was known for her creative talent in gardening, decorating, and living a life of nature, with her beloved pets.
She had homes at various times in New York City, Sag Harbor, Montego Bay, and Carmel, California.
She is survived by a daughter, Erica Lynne Keiser (formally Calhoun) of Newbury, Vermont, and her husband David Keiser; and a son, Barry Mends of New Mexico, and Ocean Springs, Mississippi.
She requested that there be no formal service.
Online condolences are encouraged and may be sent to the family at fulwoodfuneralservice.com
Staff Writer on Feb 2, 2023