Lillis Jeannette Joy Beaudoin – “Lee” – passed away at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle on Friday, October 5, 2012. Lee was born on December 9, 1932, in Southwest Harbor, Maine – the fifth and youngest child of Lillis Jeannette Phillips Joy and Winfred Bennett Joy. As a child she displayed unusual musical gifts, and as she grew, it became clear that she possessed a lyrical soprano voice, which received much attention in her frequent public performances. After graduating from Mount Desert High in 1951 (where she wrote the school song), she enrolled at the University of Maine at Orono as a speech major. In December of her freshman year she was set up on a blind date with a handsome sophomore from Biddeford, Chuck Beaudoin, and they never looked back. She and Chuck were married in Northeast Harbor on October 31, 1954. In 1964 they moved to Clarksburg, Maryland, where they lived for 37 years, raising their five children. For the past 11 years, Lee and Chuck have been residents of Oak Harbor, a town they came to love when their youngest daughter, Nancy Beaudoin Rouser, moved there with her husband Kenny and sons Jake and Nick.

Lee is survived by her husband of 58 years, Chuck, of Oak Harbor; by five children: Julia Beaudoin Nakken of Vallejo California, Daniel Beaudoin of Astoria New York, Susan Beaudoin of Rockville Maryland, Jennifer Beaudoin Moffitt of Kensington Maryland, and Nancy Beaudoin Rouser of Oak Harbor; by nine grandchildren: Jila Kavandi, Leyla Kavandi, Ali Kavandi, Brandon Kavandi, Sara Kavandi, Jacob Rouser, Nicholas Rouser, Curtis Ducken, and William Nakken; and by one great-grandson, Mason Arya Kavandi, born March 15, 2012.

Lee Beaudoin will be remembered for her musical gifts – her voice, her piano playing, her perfect pitch. She will be remembered as a generous and inspiring piano teacher by her scores of devoted pupils over the years. She will be remembered as a chef and hostess extraordinaire. She will be remembered as an enthusiastic, outgoing friend who loved being surrounded by people and celebrating life’s moments. Most of all, she will be remembered by her family as a loving, devoted wife, mother, grandmother and now great-grandmother. She leaves behind a place in our hearts which will always be hers.

A Memorial Service was held Sunday, October 7, 2012 at the Oak Harbor Church of the Nazarene. Memorials may be made to UNICEF. Family and friends are encouraged to share memories and condolences at www.whidbeymemorial.com.