Beryl S. (Stone) Bouchard

North Brookfield/Ft. Myers, FL- Beryl S. Bouchard, 91, of Shell Point, Ft. Myers, FL, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 23, 2022, at the Shell Point Larsen Skilled Nursing Center.

She was predeceased by her loving husband of 62 years, Leo Bouchard, in 2017. Beryl cherished her family and felt very blessed to have been able to adopt her children with Leo to create their family, and was very proud to tell everyone who asked about her family that it was “the best thing she ever did in her life”.  She leaves her son Jay, of Clearwater, FL; her daughter Christine Brown and husband David of Sturbridge, MA; her son Peter of Seattle, WA, and her beloved grandchildren whom she adored: Dakota Brown of Michigan, Dominic Brown of Sturbridge, MA, and Allison and Alex Bouchard of Seattle, WA, as well as a niece and two nephews.

Beryl was born on March 2, 1931, in Ware, MA, to the late Arthur and Pearl (Cooley) Stone, and lived in Dana, MA, – until she was 6 years old - when all residents had to leave their homes and relocate. Dana was one of the four towns flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir that provides water to Boston and the surrounding towns.

Beryl attended Elementary schools in Dana, Petersham and West Brookfield, and graduated from Quaboag Regional High School, Warren, MA, as the class valedictorian. As an accomplished student, in her junior year, she was chosen to attend the Massachusetts American Legion Auxiliary Girls State Leadership & Citizenship program where she met a new friend from North Brookfield. That friendship continued, and after graduating from college, she attended her friend’s wedding where she met Leo.

Beryl received her B.S. in Nutrition Sciences and her M.S. in Microbiology, both Magna cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst. She worked at UMass Amherst in a few Science and Research departments until adopting her children, then stayed home to raise them. After her children were in school, she returned to work and taught Chemistry, Biology and Microbiology at Holyoke Community College for 3 years, then returned to UMass Amherst to teach Environmental Sciences, do lab research and was also the Environmental Sciences student advisor until her retirement in 1995.

Beryl and Leo custom built their home in Amherst, MA, where they raised their family and lived for over 40 years.  For many years, they enjoyed summers with family and friends at their family cottage on Lake Lashaway in North Brookfield. In 1995, they retired to Cape Coral, FL, during the winter and North Brookfield, MA, during the summer, then moved to Shell Point 15 years ago. In Cape Coral, Beryl immediately got involved in the Red Hat Society where she met several new friends, had ‘loads of fun’ at their events, and stayed in touch with them for many years.

As a young girl, Beryl taught herself how to sew and became a very talented seamstress and created many beautiful articles of clothing for herself and family. She was always a learner and embraced new experiences by taking computer, photography, art and painting classes, which proved to be lifelong hobbies she revisited throughout her retirement.  At Shell Point, she was a volunteer in their computer lab and library, and enjoyed those teaching interactions with other residents. She and Leo enjoyed traveling in retirement and visited Hawaii, Europe, Alaska, Quebec & Montreal, Canada, and actively participated in several Windjammer Cruises to the Caribbean.

Cremation services were held in Florida and burial at Walnut Grove Cemetery in North Brookfield, MA, will be private.  A celebration of her life will be held by her family at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions to the campaign to restore the carillon chimes at Walnut Grove Cemetery.  Checks can be made payable to Joseph Klimavich, P.O. Box 691, Brookfield, MA 01506 (please write Walker Memorial Carillon fund in the memo line). The online link is: https://www.gofundme.com/f/campaign-to-restore-the-walker-memorial-carillon.  

Varnum Funeral Home, 43 East Main St. in West Brookfield is assisting with local arrangements.

An online guest book is available at varnumfuneralhome.com.

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