Marie van Beers remembered by her family in tribute after Tweed murder
The family of a grandmother tragically killed yesterday have described Marie van Beers as spontaneous, giving and ‘everyone’s favourite aunty.’
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MARIE van Beers was everyone’s favourite aunty, a wonderful sister and a beloved grandmother.
That’s what her family would like people to take away from her tragic death on Monday at Tweed Heads.
Older sister Moya Reid, 65, told the Gold Coast Bulletin last night that Marie was family oriented.
She was mother – and “Queen” – to her two boys, Chris, who works as a chef, and Michael, a butcher. She doted on her two granddaughters, even though she didn’t see them regularly.
She loved her nieces and nephews.
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Marie was “everyone’s favourite aunt,” Ms Reid said.
The 63-year-old Tweed woman was also close to her siblings – Moya, Sylvia, Betty, and Jerry – even though Ms Reid lives in South Australia and Sylvia lives south of Newcastle. Jerry passed away five weeks ago.
“We used to get up to some weird and crazy things when we were younger, and even when we were older,” Ms Reid said.
“You’d play tricks on each other. We ordered pizza one time and I ordered pepperoni with jalapeño chillies and ordered some other ones. She asked if they were nice and I said it was really, really nice. And she took a bite into this really hot chilli.”
Ms Reid described her late sister as someone who loved life and was a great provider, idolising her family.
Marie was spontaneous, made people laugh and made people feel good about themselves, she said.
“And to be cut down like that was not right,” she said.
“She will be sorely missed by everyone.”
Marie had only lived in the area for about a year after moving up from Wentworthville, close to Parramatta.
In 2017, she had been flooded out at Chinderah when ex-Cyclone Debbie came through.
Her sons helped her find her unit on Brett Street in the aftermath.
Ms Reid said two of Marie’s favourite hobbies were reading and playing on her iPad.
“I introduced her to the iPad and computers and she thought it was the best thing since sliced bread,” Ms Reid laughed.
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“She was born at the Nepean District Hospital and was the largest baby born there (at the time) at 13 pounds.”
Ms Reid said their parents were Dutch immigrants who stayed in a migrant’s camp in NSW until they moved to St Mary’s.
Marie and Ms Reid both went to St Luke’s School. Later, Marie would move to Smithfield, then Wentworthville and finally up to Tweed for her ex-partner, who needed a drier climate due to his asthma.
Ms Reid said Marie also helped to take care of their mother until she went into a nursing home and was a volunteer at an aged care centre before retiring.
Sister Sylvia van Beers said Marie would be very much missed.
“She was a loving, caring person with a beautiful nature,” she said.
“A beautiful mum, a wonderful sister. She was a lovely aunt to her niece and nephews.
“She didn’t deserve to be killed. She would give you the shirt off her back.”
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