Beatrice Rosales

Rosales, (Nuñez) Terres, Beatrice; 88 of Santa Barbara; passed away at her home on July 17, 2010, surrounded by her family and loved ones. Bea was born in Santa Barbara on November 15, 1921 to Geronimo and Antonia Terres, whose families were both immigrants from Spain. She attended Lincoln Elementary School, Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High School where she excelled academically. She received her teaching credential from Santa Barbara Teacher’s College on the Riviera. She married Angelo Nuñez in 1943 and they had four children. He preceded her in death in 1954. She married Raymond Rosales in 1960 and he passed away in 1996.

Bea had a long and outstanding career as a teacher at both Santa Barbara Junior High and Santa Barbara High School. She began teaching in 1954, taking over the class her husband Angelo had been teaching when he died. She taught Spanish, math, and biology to generations of Santa Barbara’s youth. She is remembered by so many of her former students who approached her regularly to reminisce about their time and experiences in her classroom. They often told her that she was instrumental in changing the course of their lives. She received accolades and several awards for her teaching, including Santa Barbara High School’s Alumni Association Teacher of the Year. Some of her fondest memories of teaching were her times at Santa Barbara Junior High School coaching the majorettes and working with the Theater Arts Program on legendary spring shows. She established the first bilingual biology classes at Santa Barbara High School and was in the forefront of developing bilingual curriculum in the Santa Barbara School District in the late 1960s. She later became the ESL Counselor for the newly arrived immigrants at Santa Barbara High School.

Bea retired from the Santa Barbara School District in 1985 after 31 years of teaching. Bea was also very active in the community serving on several committees: the City Planning Commission, League of Women Voters, Cars are Basic, the Homeless Shelter and Daughters of Spain, where she served as president for several years. She was also the coordinator of Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Religious Education Department from 1973 to 1979. Bea was very vocal about preserving the architectural integrity of Santa Barbara and was often seen at City Council meetings expressing her opinions. One of her favorite pastimes was participating in Santa Barbara’s Old Spanish Day’s, which she attended from its earliest beginnings. She often bragged that she had never missed a fiesta. She was a proud member of Santa Barbara High School’s Alumni Association, and you could frequently hear her say, “Once a Don, always a Don.”

Bea is survived by her four children: Dr. Robert Nunez (Jennifer Brown Nunez); Loretta (Nunez) Carter (Charles Carter); Joseph Nunez (Patricia Chavez Nunez); and Adrianne Nunez (Jerry Bellamy), as well as, ten grandchildren and by her siblings: Dr Geronimo Terres of Palo Alto and his wife Helen, and her sister Inez (Terres) Osborne of Costa Mesa. She has numerous nieces and nephews. Her family wishes to express their appreciation to Regina Olivera for her kindness and help in assisting the family in caring for Beatrice in her final months Memorial services will include a Rosary at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church on Friday, July 23 at 7:00 pm. The Funeral Mass will be held at 10:00 am on Saturday, July 24 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church,1300 East Valley Rd, Montecito. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery immediately following the Mass. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association for a perpetual scholarship in memory of Beatrice Rosales: Santa Barbara High School Alumni Association, P.O. Box 6121, Santa Barbara, CA. 93160-6121