Beulah Christina “B.C.” Heitzman, of DeWitt, died on Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016, a few days short of her 93rd birthday, after a long illness. She was born Feb. 11, 1923, in Woonsocket, R.I., to Frank and Rachel (Adams) Larson and graduated from Woonsocket High School and the Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing, where she received her registered nursing degree. She enlisted in the Army Nursing Corps, serving in the Pacific during World War II, including New Guinea and the Philippines, and achieved the rank of first lieutenant.
After the war, she returned to nursing at Rhode Island Hospital, where she met her future husband, Central New York native E. James Heitzman, MD., and the couple settled in the Syracuse area to raise their family. She and her husband were avid travelers and visited 28 countries, including several trips to Egypt and other parts of Africa.
Always dedicated to education, Mrs. Heitzman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and French from Le Moyne College in 1979. An active volunteer, she tutored at the former Our Lady of Solace School and at Holy Cross School and also read to the blind through WCNY’s Readout program.
She was predeceased by her husband in 1996 and her eldest son, E. James Heitzman Jr., PhD, in 2008. She is survived by her children Mark Heitzman, MD, and his wife, Debra Karvonen, of Barre, Vt.; Kristina Heitzman Carr, PA, and her husband, Richard, of Rosendale, N.Y.; Karen Heitzman, MD, and her husband, James Howe, of Manlius; and Eric Heitzman, PhD, and his partner, Ann Nelson, of Wheeling, W.Va.; and three daughters-in-law, Barbara Heitzman of Syracuse, Smriti Srinivas of Davis, Calif.; and Philomena Heitzman of Morgantown, W.Va. She is also survived by 12 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and several nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may call from 4:00 to 7:00 pm Monday, February 1st at Eaton-Tubbs Fayetteville Chapel, 7191 E. Genesee St., Fayetteville. A funeral Mass will be held at 9:00 am Tuesday, February 2nd at Holy Cross Church, 4112 E. Genesee St., DeWitt. Burial will be in Assumption Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her memory to the Oneida Lake Association, P.O. Box 3536, Syracuse, New York 13220-3536.

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