Obituary of Beatrice Dreier

Beatrice Braveman Dreier, age 89, died on Tuesday, December 30th at the Central NJ Jewish Home for the Aged in Somerset. Mrs. Dreier was born on December 6, 1914 in Reading, PA and was the daughter of Sarah Hurvitz Braveman and Isidore Braveman, both of whom immigrated to the United States from Lithuania in the 1890s. The family moved to Princeton, NJ in 1926. She graduated near the top of her class from Princeton High School in 1931. She had intended to attend college to become a French teacher, but, in the hard times of the Depression, she chose to work to support her family. She took secretarial courses and held several office jobs in Princeton (as secretary to the principal of Princeton High School) and also in New York City. She also helped run her familys jewelry store after her father was killed in an automobile accident in 1941. She married Theodore Dreier on December 1, 1946. They settled in Plainfield, NJ and lived there during their entire marriage. Her husband, who, with his brother Bernard, owned Dreiers Sporting Goods Stores in Plainfield and Watchung, died in 1986. She was an active member of several Jewish organizations, including Hadassah, ORT, and Temple Sholom in Plainfield, where she served as president of the Temples Sisterhood. She also served as the Temple Sholoms administrator, responsible for day to day management of the synagogue for almost 20 years. As a young woman, she sang in several choirs and later became an accomplished jewelry maker, selling her creations in Plainfield area stores and giving them as gifts for friends and family. She was adept at playing Scrabble and doing the New York Times crossword puzzle. For the past three years she lived at the Central NJ Jewish Home for the Aged in Somerset, NJ. She is survived by sons Harry Dreier of Old Bridge, NJ and Peter Dreier of Pasadena, CA; her grandson Ted Dreier and granddaughters Amelia and Sarah Dreier; her sister Pauline Braveman Endy of West Chester, PA; and her brother Dr. Bernard Braveman of Reddington Shores, FL. Funeral Services will be held on Friday, Jan 2nd at 12 :00 p.m. at Higgins Home for Funerals, 752 Mountain Blvd., Watchung. Interment will be at Mt. Lebanon Cemetery, Iselin. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Temple Sholom, 74 Martine Avenue, Fanwood, NJ 07023.