Eddie Beatrice "Bea" Marx

Eddie Beatrice (Bea) Marx, 97, of Alexandria, VA, went home to Jesus on Friday, August 26, 2022.

Bea, born March 30, 1925, in Homer, Louisiana, was the daughter of the late Floyd Albert Owen and Birchie Kyle Owen. Raised in a farming family, she was the youngest of four children and often talked about picking cotton at the age of two. Her family homesteaded a farm in Dyess Colony, AR beginning in 1934 under the FDR administration’s agricultural relief and rehabilitation program established by the federal government during the Great Depression. Dyess was also the boyhood home of country singer Johnny Cash with whom Mom was proud to say she and her sister, Orine, walked to school. After high school Bea went to business school in Memphis and then moved to Washington, DC to join the war effort as a secretary for the Department of the Navy which was erected temporarily on the Washington DC Mall. She spoke fondly of the amazing friends she met and how they used to picnic under the Cherry Blossom trees on the tidal basin.

Bea met James Henry Marx, Sr. riding bikes when he was dared by his pals to say hello to the girl with the pretty red hair. It turned out they worked in the same building and Jim stopped by to ask her out for lunch the next day. They married in 1952 and Bea followed Jim on each Navy assignment while adding to their family in Philadelphia, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Virginia. They settled in Virginia in 1957 and Bea supported the family and her husband’s many endeavors. She was diligent, devoted, and loving.

Bea was a strong woman who tended her yard and household and demonstrated hard work to us all. She wrapped her arms around us and taught us about true love and the importance of family. She was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother, neighbor, and friend. She was a mother and grandmother to so many. She cared for Jim and his mother until they were called home to Jesus in 1993. She raised her grandchildren and was their biggest supporter, always a great example of what it was like to have an open heart to others. She attended every school show and event for 69 years!

Bea was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2021 and was cared for at home by her children and loving caregivers, Annie and Genet. She passed away peacefully at home as she wished with all by her bedside.  Our family offers special thanks to Annie and Genet for their care of our Mother.

In addition to her parents, Bea was predeceased by her husband James, her siblings Jewell Falk (AR), Albert Owen (TX), and Ruby ‘Orine’ Burns (AL). Left to carry on her legacy of working hard and loving others are her children Marilyn Marie Horner (James), Owen Joseph Marx (Karen), James Henry Marx, Jr. (Mary), Barbara Jeanne Viney (Charles) and her grandchildren – Christopher, Patrick, Charles Jr., Jonathan, Ashley, and Rebecca.

A memorial Mass will be held on September 6, 2022, at 11 AM at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church with a meet and greet afterwards at her home.

Church address: 1427 W Braddock Rd, Alexandria, VA 22302

Interment will take place at a later date at the columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery where her husband, James Henry Marx, is interred.

In lieu of flowers, we request donations to be made to one of the following or associated organizations.

Alzheimers Association - https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/133039601

Multiple Sclerosis - https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/135661935

Breast Cancer - https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/752391148

(Info: donations may be made in memory of Eddie Bea Marx and notifications may be emailed to ebmarx@gmail.com or sent to 4709 Surry Place Alexandria, VA 22304.)

When Tomorrow Starts Without Me – by David M. Romano

When tomorrow starts without me
And I’m not here to see
If the sun should rise and find your eyes
Are filled with tears for me

I wish so much you wouldn’t cry
The way you did today
While thinking of the many things
We didn’t get to say

I know how much you love me
As much as I love you
And each time you think of me
I know you’ll miss me too

But when tomorrow starts without me
Please try to understand
That an angel came and called my name
And took me by the hand

And said my place was ready
In Heaven far above
And that I’d have to leave behind
All those I dearly love

But when I walked through Heaven’s gate
I felt so much at home
When God looked down and smiled at me
From His great golden throne

He said this is eternity
And all I promised you
Today your life on earth is past
But here it starts anew

I promise no tomorrow
For today will always last
And since each day’s the same way
There’s no longing for the past

So when tomorrow starts without me
Don’t think we’re far apart
For every time you think of me
I’m right here in your heart

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