Elizabeth L. “Liz” Biester died peacefully at her home in Furlong on Sunday, June 5. She is survived by her loving husband of sixty-two years, the Hon. Edward G. “Pete” Biester, Jr., her children: Ann Deane, Edward G. Biester, III (Carol), James Biester (Elaine) and David Biester (Sarah), her grandchildren: Meredith, Katherine, and Carter Deane, Laura and Alison Biester, Emily and Mack Biester, and Duncan and George Biester. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Ann Kleinsasser (the late Bill) and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. Liz was predeceased by her parents–Paul G. I. Lauffer and Jean Robertson Lauffer–as well as her brother John R. Lauffer.
Liz was born in New York and grew up in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York and in her youth she and her father became the first father-daughter team to climb all forty-six peaks of the Adirondack Mountains. She continued her love of the outdoors, with a special passion and gift for gardening, throughout her life. Liz graduated from Smith College in 1953, and enrolled in graduate studies in anthropology at George Washington University in the 1970’s. After graduating from Smith, Liz worked in the Actuarial Department of the New York Life Insurance Company in New York and Penn Mutual Insurance Company in Philadelphia. Later she worked at the American Society for International Law in Washington, D.C., and opened the Four Corners Gallery in Lambertville, New Jersey, which featured art of the American Southwest and from around the globe, in addition to art by Bucks County artists. In travels with Pete around their second home in Taos, New Mexico—and around the world–she sought out artists to represent.
Liz devoted herself to assisting women and children, activities for which she was awarded the Bucks County Women’s History Month Award in 2014. For nearly forty years she helped children find adoptive parents through Welcome House (now Pearl S. Buck International), which she chaired for seven years. Her work on behalf of children took her to Thailand, Central America, India, China, Russia, Romania, and most often Korea, where she aided in the development of adoption programs and also escorted children to their new homes in the United States. Liz also volunteered and held leadership roles in the League of Women Voters of Bucks County, the Network of Victim Assistance, Teachers for Tomorrow, the American Red Cross (for which she received the Clara Barton Award), the Bucks County Symphony Board, the Bucks County Women’s Fund, and the YWCA of Bucks County. She was active in support for public schools and served as a voluntary tutor for young children in Washington, D.C. and later in Bucks County. She was also a sometime member of Pebble Hill Church in Doylestown.
Liz was an extraordinary woman, beloved by her family, her community and those whose lives she touched around the globe.
The family wishes to express its deep thanks to the care givers at Home Instead for their loving care of Liz over the past year and Doylestown Hospital Hospice.
A memorial service to honor Liz will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, June 18, 2016, at Doylestown Presbyterian Church, 127 East Court Street, Doylestown.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations in Liz’s honor to Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA 18944 or Network of Victim Assistance, 2370 York Road, Suite B1, Jamison, PA 18929.