Gerald "Gerry" Edward Beauchaine
July 19, 1926 - July 09, 2014
Obituary
Beauchaine, Gerald Edward “Gerry”
MADISON-Gerald Edward Beauchaine passed away peacefully in his sleep on Wednesday, July 9, 2014, at Heritage Monona in Madison, just 10 days before his 88th birthday. Gerald was born in Marshfield, Wis., on July 19, 1926, the son of Elmo and Adela (Dix) Beauchaine. He was raised on a farm in the town of Lincoln and graduated from Purdy High School. Gerald joined the U.S. Army Air Corps at the age of 17, and served at March Field in Riverside, Calif., from 1944-1946. He was a B17 airplane mechanic and truck operator for the 722nd Air Refueling Wing. Gerald married his high school sweetheart, Ruth Wendt, in Marshfield on July 26, 1947. They moved to Madison, where Gerald began a long career with Greyhound Bus Lines providing “Safe, Reliable, Courteous” service for 15 years in the upper Midwest. From 1965-1984, Gerald was the lessee of Buckeye Road Skelly on Madison’s far east side. Once again, service with a genuine smile was his business. In retirement, Gerald enjoyed several jobs delivering auto parts. He officially retired from Bumper-to-Bumper in the fall of 2011 at the age of 85. Gerald was an avid cribbage player and also enjoyed woodworking, golfing, fixing cars, watching auto races, going to garage sales, tinkering in his garage, puttering in his basement and polka dancing. He was a beloved father to Marilyn (Bob) Baker of Stevens Point, Roger (Peggy) Beauchaine of Lake Geneva and Lois O’Donnell of Madison. He dearly loved his five grandchildren, Nicholas (Steph) Beauchaine of Riverside, Calif., Tony (Sara) Beauchaine of Boise, Idaho, Ted Beauchaine of Lake Geneva, Matthew (Mike Neuenfeldt) Baker of Madison and Jenna (Ryan) Williams of Oshkosh. Gerald also leaves behind three beautiful great-grandchildren, Nicky, Jack and Harper Beauchaine; one brother, Eugene Beauchaine of Sherwood Wis.; one sister, Jeanette Loomis of Marshfield; and one sister-in-law, Peg Beauchaine of Plymouth, Minn. He was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth on Aug. 8, 2007; his son, Charles on April 11, 2001; his brother, Jim on Jan. 12, 2012; his sister-in-law, Betty Beauchaine on April 28, 2010; and his brother-in-law, Eugene Loomis on Aug. 16, 1999. He will be sadly missed by many nieces, nephews and friends. A Celebration of Life will be held at GUNDERSON FITCHBURG FUNERAL HOME, 2950 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg, at 11 a.m., on Saturday, July 19, 2014, with a time of gathering to follow. In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to Agrace HospiceCare in Gerald’s name. A special thank you to Heritage Monona, Agrace HospiceCare and Dr. Peter Harnish. “End Of Message.” Online condolences may be made at www.gundersonfh.com.
Gunderson Fitchburg
Funeral & Cremation Care
2950 Chapel Valley Road
(608)442-5002
Events
Celebration of Life
Sat Jul 19, 2014 @ 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM CDT
Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care - Fitchburg • 2950 Chapel Valley Road, Fitchburg, WI 53711
Photos
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Memories
KB
Kathy Beauchaine
Other •
Uncle Gerald was one of the world’s friendliest people. He always had a smile, a hello, and if you were lucky enough, he would tell you a joke or prank you. My father would say: “Gerald doesn’t know a stranger!”
A favorite memory from a few years ago was a trip we took with his brother, Gene, his sister, Jeanette, and my sister, Jan. We drove to Minneapolis to see their brother Jim and wife, Peg. On the way, we stopped to visit June (Hansen) Stangl (who used to lived down the hill from the farm where they grew up). Gerald was his usual warm and congenial self with the adults. But he spent most of the visit with a cute girl of about 8 years, teaching her the song and hand motions for:
Pease porridge hot, pease porridge cold, Pease porridge in the pot, nine days old;
Some like it hot, some like it cold, Some like it in the pot, nine days old.
That’s the memory. Him sitting in the dining room, knee to knee, with a smiling 8 year old who he had just met, teaching “Pease porridage hot…” To me, that memory epitomizes his ability to connect with people. Anyone. Everyone. His love of connection. His warmth.
A niece, Kathy B.
RW
Richard Wendt
Other •
I have many good memories of Uncle Ger, or "Unca Bush" as we called him when we were young.
I remember Uncle Ger's love of fireworks, or maybe it was just blowing things up.
I remember attending my first auto race with Cousin Roger and Uncle Ger.
I remember Uncle Ger's love of polka music. I can see him bent over the transistor radio in the corner of the kitchen while the rest of us are hooting and hollering over a game of cards, the omnipresent smile on his face.
And I remember him smiling as he showed us kids his latest magic trick, and we all laughed together.
- Our condolences to Uncle Ger's children and grandchildren and all who feel his loss from Margie & Rich Wendt, Cindi & John Livingston.