Dorothy J. (Ivancic) Beauregard

BEAUREGARD - Dorothy J. (nee Ivancic)
Of Buffalo, April 24, 2020

Wife of 67 years to the late Paul R. Beauregard Sr.; dearest mother of Paul (Lynda) Beauregard Jr., Nanette (William) Huntington, Suzanne (Joseph) Allen; loving grandmother of Daniel (Joanne) Beauregard, Julie (Craig) Osborne, Bonnie (Matt) Wojtkiewicz, Michele (George) Mayfield, Patrick (Danielle) Huntington, Amy (Scott) Haynes, Augustine (April) SantaMaria Jr., Anne Yeskoot and 15 great-grandchildren; sister of Elizabeth “Betty” (late John) Zedick and the late Carl (Marion) Ivancic, late Sylvia (Richard) Diebold, late Wilma Ivancic; also survived by many nieces and nephews.

All are invited to a Memorial Mass at St. Rose Of Lima RC Church, Parkside at Parker Ave., Buffalo, Wednesday (May 26th) at 9:30 AM. Interment Mt. Olivet Cemetery. Please meet at church. 

Those desiring may make Memorial contributions to Alzheimer Association, 6215 Sheridan Dr., Suite 100, Williamsville, NY 14221 or Hospice Foundation of WNY, 225 Como Park Blvd., Cheektowaga, NY 14227, are preferred.

Dorothy Beauregard was born in 1926 in the great Riverside area of Buffalo to Joseph and Anna Ivancic, hard-working American immigrants from the nation of Croatia.     She attended All Saints Grammar School and graduated from Riverside High School in 1943, during the middle of World War II.   Her yearbook was filled with patriotic slogans intended to boost the morale of our troops in Europe and in the South Pacific.    She often remarked about how patriotic the citizens of the USA were and how deeply everyone cared about defending and protecting our country from any and all forms of foreign aggression.  Dorothy was elected Secretary of her high school class and is remembered as a very high energy person (“vivacious” in her yearbook description) who was also very kind, generous, always honest and forthright in her dealings with others.

Dorothy was the second oldest of five siblings (4 sisters and one brother) and said that she had to “break the ice” with regard to dating and other social activities with a very strict father.  When her father saw a curse word scribbled on a wall at Riverside Park Pool, he wanted to ban the kids from going to the park.  

After the war, Dorothy met Paul Beauregard, a WW II US Marine veteran, as they both worked at JH Williams, a tool manufacturer located near Riverside.   They married in 1946 and had their first child a year later.   They lived on the West Side of Buffalo and then moved to Riverside and finally to North Buffalo, where they purchased a new post-war home and raised 3 children.   They were married for 67 years until Paul passed away in 2013.   Her family was always her top priority.   Dorothy stayed at home with the kids as Paul worked as a Buffalo policeman and did other side jobs to make ends meet.    She would say that Paul always gave her his entire paycheck to deposit in the bank.

Dorothy worked as a City of Buffalo Crossing Guard in the mid-1950’s, endearing herself to many children from PS86 and PS66, as well as her own children’s classmates who attended St Rose of Lima school.   She then proceeded to work at the Chevrolet Tonawanda Engine Plant (Riverside) in 1960 and worked there until the mid-1980’s.  She started in Labor Relations (part of HR) and eventually became the Secretary to the Plant Manager.    After retiring, she and Paul made trips to Disney World (with a granddaughter), Fall River, MA (Paul’s birthplace), California (to visit Paul’s sister), Hawaii and to Colorado to visit her son and his family.   She especially enjoyed summers swimming with her kids and grandkids in their backyard pool.

When Paul developed Alzheimer’s Disease in his 80’s and eventually entered a skilled nursing home, Dorothy would visit him each and every day.   She moved to Tennyson Court, an assisted living residence in Williamsville, a little over 4 years ago.   Recently, she experienced a very unfortunate fall requiring immediate surgery and which ultimately resulted in her being admitted to a nursing home.  Sadly, visitations by family were not permitted during the current lockdown conditions that were imposed on all nursing homes.  Her condition declined rapidly during her nearly 2-month long stay there.  She passed away on April 24, 2020.  Dorothy was 93 years old.  She will be greatly missed by her family. 

Stories and Memories about Dorothy Beauregard: April 29, 2020

From her granddaughter, Anne  “As children, we spent almost every summer day in grandma and grandpa’s pool. We were fixtures in their home during the warm weather...swimming, barbecuing and staying as long as the weather would allow. I recall as I got into high school and beyond, and often had plans with friends during those summer days, my time in the pool with grandma was cut shorter. When I’d have to get out, she’d always say, ‘come on let’s just stay in five more minutes.’ Needless to say, I always did. And what I wouldn’t give now for another five.”
Input from her granddaughter, Julie   ‘I’ve never forgotten the time I was at the mall with gram and she told me that she liked to give out at least one compliment to a stranger every day... it makes people happy and it costs nothing.  Then she told some young boy who looked like he just had a haircut, that she loved his haircut, and he gave her a big smile.   I’m not going to pretend I go around giving out tons of compliments to people, but maybe I’ll start doing that more now. I’ve never forgotten that for some reason.
Input from her grandson, Augie   I remember many times staying at my grandparents’ house whenever we were sick, especially when I had my tonsils out as a junior in high school.  In addition, all of the holidays, especially Christmas and birthdays were so much fun at their house.  I’ll always treasure those memories.  Grandma Dorothy was such a great cook, you always ate like a king at her house.  Also, one of my grandparents’ favorite traditions was nightly viewing of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, which they always loved to have us watch with them. It was a really fun competition to see who knew the most answers!
Input from her granddaughter, Bonnie  My grandmother and grandfather would call every year on my birthday and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me.   We would drive from Colorado to Buffalo many summers and play in the pool with grandma and we would spend a lot of time in their large screened garage and she would serve us lunch.
Input from her granddaughter, Julie   A grand daughter also related another driving story,  ‘I’ve never forgotten her telling me how much she hates when people don’t pull up under the light to turn left at a green light, because then when it turns yellow 2-3 people can turn left instead of 1 car or none.  I continue to follow that advice.’
Input from her oldest granddaughter, Michele   Some great memories of Gram are when Grandma and Grandpa brought me to Disney World, when Gram accidentally cooked her famous chili with cinnamon instead of chili powder (still delicious), Amy, Annie and I sang songs to G&G after way too much wine one Thanksgiving, Gram loving spending time with her great grandchildren, Pat having lunch (Hot Pockets or Lean Cuisine) weekly, Gram taking me to A,M & A’s downtown to see the Christmas windows decorated, her love of pistachio ice cream from Anderson’s, her love of anything from Anderson’s, her devotion to her husband, more in sickness than in health, her love to be active, especially swimming in her beloved pool with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, when Gram taught Amy how to make Zucchini Pie from scratch and it was amazing, Amy’s lunches with Gram while watching Price Is Right, Water Aerobics with Amy and Annie, Sunday family dinners, Friday Fish Fry with Grandpa, she was a doomsday ‘prepper’ before it was even a thing, Gram’s unsuccessful use of ‘The Club’, Raisin Sauce, she was always dressed impeccably, even in a duster, Angel Food Cake, when she insisted on perfect lipstick application before being loaded onto a stretcher to go to hospital, shut the door so you don’t let a fly in!!!, our family Disney World trip, when Gram had all of my haircut off while my parents were out of town, her love of Mighty Taco, her re-use of disposable cutlery, the best summers of our lives being spent at 785 St. Lawrence, how much she loved her family and would do anything for them.    I know this is basically one run-on sentence. I just wanted to send some memories that we had.
Input from her son, Paul   Before the days of computers, my mother typed a 50 page report on ‘Africa/ Asia Minor’ for my Geography class.  She was an excellent typist/ stenographer, and I received an ‘A’ on the report (which I still have).
Input from her son, Paul   Mom was great in the kitchen, having many great recipes passed on from her mother.  We lived in North Buffalo, where a railroad ran along a steep hill behind the house. I remember our mom taking us up on the hill to pick blackberries in the summer, after which she would bake a pie with the berries.  
Input from her son, Paul  My mother was a “New York driver and always running tight to get to work.  One time she was on the way to work in the morning and there was a police car that noticed her rolling through the stop sign.  My father was in the patrol car, and his partner said  “Isn’t that your car?”   I believe that he did not give her a ticket, just a warning.   
Input from her daughter, Nanette   One time Nanette thought that she had been stood up for a prom (no call), so my mother took her to the mall to cheer her up.  When they returned home, the boy was waiting in the living room all ready to take her.  Apparently he had no phone and had taken the bus over to our house.  My mom wound up driving them both to the prom. 
Input from her daughter, Suzy   In addition to my mother’s love of cooking (she was a fabulous cook), I also remember how much my mother loved musicals!  Among her top favorites were Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady.  As money wasn’t very plentiful back then, we didn’t go out to dinner or to the movie theater, as rule, but I do remember one time when my father (a Buffalo Policeman) was fortunate to be obtain passes to The Granada Movie Theater on Main Street in Buffalo. Our family all went to see the premiere showing of My Fair Lady.  I will never forget how thrilled my mother (as we all were) was to have had this experience!
 

Note:   Pat (Patrick) and Amy, referenced in Michele’s input, were her brother and sister, children of Nanette and grandchildren of Dorothy.  

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