Betty Joan Stoeckeler

The inimitable Betty Joan “Beejie” Stoeckeler finished her adventurous mortal journey on June 27, 2024, in Mesa, Arizona. Beejie was a brilliant, outspoken, gregarious, and generous woman who lived life at a frenetic pace. 

Beejie was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 5, 1947, to her father, Ernest George Stoeckeler (1917 – 1975), a forest research scientist and aerial photo specialist, and her mother, Margaret Lucia Vincent (1919-1998), a sculptor and violinist with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Soon brother George Robert Stoeckeler (1948 - 2016) joined the family. The family later moved to Bangor, Maine. Her mother had roots in Caribou, Maine.

Beejie loved Maine and the many friends her family had there. She cherished her childhood friendship with family friend Adelaide Pearson (1875 – 1960), a philanthropist, world traveler, and founder of Rowantrees Pottery in Blue Hill, Maine. 

After graduating from high school, Beejie headed off to college in the 1965 Volkswagen Beetle convertible her parents gave her as a graduation present. (Not one to get caught up in trivialities, Beejie seems never to have had a driver’s license.)

Beejie attended the University of Maine in Orono and also took courses at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology but found the rigidity of formal education too confining. She began working for a company that sold business forms to major corporations but decided right away that she wanted to start her own company. Picking the brains of scientists and engineers and spending many long hours at the library, she devised ways to make “clean paper,” developing coatings and applications to make synthetic paper useable in clean rooms of electronics laboratories and pharmaceutical factories. 

In 1975, at age 28, Beejie founded and was president of DurEco Corporation, later headquartered at 240 Commercial Street, in Boston, Massachusetts, with an office at 4040 Moorpark Avenue in San Jose, California. DurEco supplied materials used in the manufacture of computer chips. Beejie was particularly proud of her role in developing Durepoly, a hydrophilic polymer resin coating used to protect and clean critical surfaces of wafers and masks during the computer chip manufacturing process. Beejie’s company encountered challenges, including the dishonesty of trusted employees, and eventually went bankrupt.

Beejie remembered fondly her years in Boston and the life she built there. She loved her townhouse at 292 Beacon Street overlooking the Charles River, nearby Boston Common and Boston Public Garden, and the many talented people she met through her work. 

As a young woman, she was engaged to be married to a promising young man who passed away just three weeks before their planned wedding. 

Beejie later moved to Caribou, Maine. In the late 1990s, Beejie moved with “Auntie Lois” (Lois Gertrude Vincent (1922 - 2004)) to a beautiful Victorian-style home on Alarcon Street in Prescott, Arizona. Beejie was devoted to Lois and cared for her in every way for the remainder of Lois’ life, at significant personal cost. In time, Beejie downsized and moved to various homes in Mesa, Arizona.

After moving to Mesa, Beejie learned of the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her mind and heart were drawn to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and she was baptized in December 2006. Beejie’s life was greatly blessed by her membership in the Church and by the many friends she made there. She served and was served by many.

Beejie’s last few years were marked by pronounced health problems, including lung cancer and COPD. She lived in a variety of settings where she received care. Beejie made friends easily and was a blessing to her roommates in each facility.

Beejie spent the last month of her life at Banner Desert Medical Center, where she received excellent care from a long list of compassionate professionals. 

Beejie came to recognize that her body was failing and that her mortal journey was coming to an end. Shortly before passing, she asked to have the hymn “We Give Thee But Thine Own” sung to her. The words of the hymn expressed what was in her heart and are a fitting tribute to the person she strove to be:

We give thee but thine own,
Whate’er the gift may be,
For all we have is thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from thee.
 
May we thy bounties thus
As stewards true receive,
And gladly, as thou blessest us,
To thee our firstfruits give.
 
To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless
Is angels’ work below.
 
And we believe thy word,
Tho dim our faith may be;
Whate’er we do for thine, O Lord,
We do it unto thee.

Beejie was preceded in death by her parents, George and Margaret; her Auntie Lois; her brother Robbie; her fiancée; her dog Suzie; and by many other pets. Beejie is survived by her beloved dog, Tweetie.

Contributions in Beejie’s honor may be made to the Humanitarian Aid Fund of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.