Charles “Chuck” Beaudoin 1932-2020

…I carry your heart [i carry it in my heart]

― ee cummings

A life full of love.

A (very) brief outline of a not-so-brief life.

Charles Guy Beaudoin was born in Biddeford, Maine in 1932 to Edward and Lily Ange Beaudoin. He had one sister, Lucille, two years his senior. He attended the University of Maine at Orono where he met the love of his life, Lee Joy. They married in 1954 and had five children over nine years. It was a close-knit family who loved to laugh together and eat Lee’s famous cooking. One of the family jokes was that in each location where Lee and Chuck lived (Oceanside & San Diego, CA, Boston, Augusta, ME, and, finally, Clarksburg, MD) they had a child. The Beaudoin version of ‘family planning’ was to stay put. And so they did, for 37 years.

Chuck’s career trajectory took him from a Lieutenant in the Marines to a CPA to a computer renaissance man. He worked for Montgomery College in Maryland for 18 years, opened his own computer store, then became a software developer/contractor for the DOD until his retirement.

Chuck and Lee moved to Whidbey Island, WA in 2001 after visiting their youngest daughter and falling in love with the area. Chuck, a fitness and nutrition enthusiast, started a volleyball team for men over 50. Lee’s natural extrovertedness helped them make wonderful friends on the island. He loved the hiking opportunities the area offered and further exploring his photography passion.

He lost his beloved Lee to a massive stroke in October of 2012. His children rallied around him, most notably his youngest, who lived in the same town of Oak Harbor. In June 2019 he moved to a memory care facility. He was taken from his family on November 28, 2020 by the devastating COVID virus, leaving five children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandsons.

He will live in our hearts and memories. His family finds solace that he is once again reunited with his beloved Lillis. They will be there for us when it it our turn.

The world [our world, as his children] is forever changed and it is our time to mourn and remember him, each with our own memories and perspective. He was a wonderful, loving father who taught us to lead with our moral compass, tell bad jokes, laugh heartily, and be good to, and treat, everyone with respect and love. Not a bad legacy.