‘Generous and even-tempered’

Veta Behr owned the kind of store that ladies loved and that men tried to avoid.

When husbands and boyfriends lost out, they were forced to accompany their significant others to Veta’s Intimate Apparel, a lingerie store inside Westcliff Plaza.

Behr’s son, Ted, recalls an encounter between his mother and a male customer.

“A guy was in the store one day, and he was obviously embarrassed to be there,” Ted Behr said. “At that moment, in comes John Wayne and his wife. Veta said, ‘Is that manly enough for you?’”

Celebrities such as Wayne and Barry Goldwater were frequent patrons of Veta Behr’s store, which was a Newport Beach staple for 25 years.

Veta Behr died Nov. 10 of natural causes. She was 96.

Born in Minnesota, Behr moved to Southern California after high school to join her mother and sister. She and her sister, Sue Spinelli, worked at department stores in Los Angeles.

Veta Behr married her husband, Arthur, in the early 1930s. He was a vice president and general manager of numerous lingerie companies around the city.

When Arthur Behr died of cancer in 1960, Veta Behr was forced to get back into the job market.

“It was a shock to all of us,” Ted Behr said. “She and my dad always dreamed of having a store.”

After her husband’s death, Veta Behr worked at one of her late husband’s brasserie stores. Then, in 1963, she sold one of the couple’s favorite boats -- a 42-foot converted fishing vessel -- in order to raise enough capital to open her own store.

That was a big deal, Ted Behr said, because his parents loved to be at sea.

“They were boating right up until they handed it over,” he said. “They owned five different boats, and went all over the area.”

Behr opened one of the first stores inside Westcliff Shopping Center. “Veta’s Intimate Aparel” was a mainstay inside the one-level center.

She brought in a friend with business experience to help out with merchandise decisions. The women were careful to follow fashion trends, such as adding a line of casual wear when that became popular, Ted Behr said.

“She was very good at knowing what to buy and picking the right things and being able to know what her customers wanted,” Ted Behr said. “Service was important to her. It was a personalized business.”

Even though she was the owner, Veta Behr continued to sell clothes inside her store.

He said up until Spinelli was 86 years old, she was brought by her sister into the store to model the clothing.

Until her retirement, Veta Behr stayed involved in what was then called the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce and in the Westcliff Merchants Assn.

Ted Behr helped out at the store after his mother suffered a stroke in 1985. The store went out of business in 1988, and Behr moved away from Newport Beach.

“She has always been known as a generous and even-tempered woman,” Ted Behr said. “She had a good business sense and ran a successful business for a long time.”

VETA BEHR

Born: Aug. 30, 1909

Died: Nov. 10, 2005

Memorial service: Held for family and friends

Survived by: Her son, Ted Behr; her daughter-in-law, Barbara Behr; and two grandsons20051120iq8hutkn(LA)Veta Behr owned a lingerie store in Newport Beach for 25 years.