Bernard J. Beaudoin ’62 died on September 14, 2017, in Tampa, Florida.
(The following was published in the Journal Tribune, September 2017:)
SANFORD — Bernard J. (“Bernie”) Beaudoin, 77, of Overland Park, Kansas, and Tampa, Florida, passed away on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, at St. Joseph’s Hospital North in Tampa.
Bernie was born in Sanford, Maine on June 22, 1940, to Esdras and Laurentine (Hamel) Beaudoin. He graduated as valedictorian of St. Ignatius High School in Sanford in 1958.
He attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine where he was a member of Kappa Sigma fraternity and received a degree in physics in 1962. He went on to receive his BS in electrical engineering in 1963 and an MBA in 1965, both from MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
On his birthday in 1963, he married his high school sweetheart, Jeannine Ross, and shared 54 years of marriage. Together they raised three children in Holliston, Massachusetts and Overland Park, Kansas.
He spent his entire 40-year career in the electric utility industry working for New England Electric and Kansas City Power & Light. At KCP&L, he held the positions of CFO and President before retiring as Chairman and CEO in 2003. In addition, he served his community as chairman of the board of Saint Joseph’s Health Center in Kansas City ending his 10-year term in 2000, and raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Parkinson’s research.
Bernie was a devout Catholic and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. In 1992, he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease but did not let that stop his passion for work, family and life. An avid fly fisherman, he fished the streams and rivers of Alaska, Canada, and Chile, among many others. He loved being with his wife and best friend, Jeannine, on their many travels including trips to France and Italy. He greatly enjoyed making sand castles with his four grandchildren on the beaches of Florida and California. In 2013, he and Jeanine relocated from Kansas City to Tampa Bay.
Bernie was predeceased by his brother, Dr. Raymond Beaudoin, and sisters Rita Morin and Claire Tarpinian.
Bernie is survived by his wife, Jeannine (Ross); his sisters Juliette Welch and Marthe Anne Haubert; his three children and their spouses, Cathleen Jonas and husband Bruce of Lutz, Florida, Anthony Beaudoin and wife Laura of Rolling Hills Estates, California, and Stephen Beaudoin and wife Lauren of Dolores, Colorado; and his four grandchildren, Serena & Arielle Jonas in Florida and Isabelle & Colton Beaudoin in California.