Beatrice Catherine Diligent

Beatrice Catherine Diligent, affectionately known as “Bebe” to her family and closest friends, passed away at her home in Jamaica, Queens, New York, on August 19, 2026, of natural causes.

She is survived by her three children, Maxime Antoine (married to Diahann; parents of Noah and Autumn), Patrick Antoine (married to Davina; parents of Kai, Raquelle, and Alex), and Jezula Antoine (parent of Xavier). She also leaves behind her surviving siblings and a large extended family of nieces, nephews, relatives, and friends in the United States, Haiti, and beyond.

Bebe was born in Haiti on July 3, 1945 to the late Meritus Diligent and Delcina Julien. She was raised in Leprêtre (of Chantal), which is in Haiti's southern region near Les Cayes. Nearby is the community of Julien, where her mother's family originated and from which the Julien family name came.

The eldest of nine children, Bebe grew up with her siblings Philippe, Belange, Jean Pierre Antoine, Marie-Lourdes, Elda, Madeleine Martha, Yolette-Marthe, and Myrtho. She was predeceased by Philippe, Belange and Marie-Lourdes.

As the eldest, Bebe became a pioneer for her family. She left Haiti for the United States in the late 1960s with her husband, Pierre Max Antoine, shortly before the birth of their first child in 1970. In the years that followed, other members of the family made the same journey, establishing themselves in Brooklyn and Boston and building a large extended Haitian-American family.

Before leaving Haiti, Bebe was a teacher, beginning a lifelong commitment to education that would shape both her own life and the lives of her children. After immigrating to New York, the young family moved to Brooklyn. Following a divorce from her husband, she then settled in Jamaica, Queens and took on the responsibility of raising their three children while establishing herself in a new country. She did so with determination and exacting standards.

Bebe believed deeply in education, discipline, proper conduct, and personal responsibility. As her children came of age in New York during the 1980s and early 1990s, she was determined that they remain focused on school and avoid the dangers and distractions around them.

She learned English quickly, often through her children, while also teaching them French fundamentals and personally helping them with their schoolwork. Intelligent and firm in her beliefs, she was largely a private person but never hesitant to speak her mind when she felt it was necessary. Her expectations could be demanding, but they reflected the seriousness with which she regarded her responsibility as a mother and her conviction that education would provide her children with opportunity and independence.

Her life was also deeply rooted in her Catholic faith. She raised her children in the Church, and throughout much of their childhood, the family regularly attended Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Jamaica, Queens. Later in life, Bebe became a parishioner of Immaculate Conception Church in Jamaica Estates, Queens.

Bebe often supported the Church through two of her greatest talents: sewing and cooking. A gifted seamstress, she made clothing by hand, including custom embroidered baptismal cloths that she donated to the Church. She was also an exceptional cook and baker. Her children particularly remember her fresh bread, Haitian patties, corn fritters, cinnamon rolls, and kremas—foods that became part of the traditions and memories of home.

After seeing all three of her children attend college and become self-sufficient adults, Bebe returned to the classroom herself—this time as a student. She attended Kingsborough Community College before earning her bachelor's degree in Education from York College. She later became a substitute teacher in the New York City public schools, returning to the profession she had first practiced in Haiti and sharing her knowledge with another generation of students.

Bebe's life reflected the resilience and determination of the immigrant experience. She left Haiti and built a new life in America, helped establish a path that others in her family would follow, raised and educated her children under difficult circumstances, and later completed her own higher education and returned to teaching.

Her legacy is found not simply in what she accomplished, but in what she made possible for those who came after her: a family strengthened by education, faith, discipline, perseverance, and a deep connection to its Haitian roots.

Beatrice “Bebe” Diligent will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered.