YOUNGSTOWN - Beatrice Leora Monroe Johnston Booher, 92, passed away peacefully Feb. 5, 2017.

Beatrice, who was known to all as "Bea," was born Jan. 29, 1925, in Ripley, Miss. to Gratz Foote and Angie Mae McCarley Monroe. Bea's family came to the Mahoning Valley because of the many jobs available in the steel industry in 1928, and took up residence in Hubbard Township. In the late 1970s, Bea pulled up her local roots here and moved to San Diego, where she lived until returning to this area in 2012.

She was a graduate of the Hubbard Schools and the Youngstown Hospital Association School of Nursing. While at the nursing school, Bea was the first person of color to be voted and crowned queen. After graduation, she became a highly-skilled registered nurse, advancing professionally to administrative management when she retired. Bea was extremely passionate about medicine and embraced her profession with precision and excellence. She was an avid learner, and her hobbies spanned all spectrums from cooking and wine-making, to sewing and reading.

She leaves to celebrate her life, a son, Stewart (Eleanor) Booher of El Centro, Calif.; granddaughters, Kymberly (Greg) Johnston-Jones and Melissa (Abdullah) Johnston-Hassen of Raleigh, North Carolina, Tammy Johnston of Dallas, Texas, and Donna (Andres) Kalinowski and Beatrice Booher of San Diego; grandsons  Christopher (Tiffany) Penmen and Robert Booher of San Diego; a brother, Thomas Monroe of Youngstown; sisters, Angie Monroe-Porter of Dayton, Susie Monroe-Caffie-Page of Youngstown, and Mary Frances (Milton) Monroe-Anderson of Ann Arbor, Mich.; cousin, Alice Clopton-James of Youngstown; plus many, nieces, nephews, family members, and friends.

A memorial for family and friends will be scheduled later in the year.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Kinnick Funeral Home, 477 N. Meridian Rd., Youngstown.