Beatrice Bouchard McLogan

Bea, a world traveler, was active until the very end, and fell ill while enjoying northern Michigan with her family – after cheering on Michigan basketball in front of a roaring fire, making soup, reading, listening to opera, planning a summer garden, and skyping with great-grandchildren in England.

Bea’s lust for life knew no bounds. Her insatiable curiosity, thirst for knowledge, and intellectual zest were contagious. Her 21 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren adored her.

She was an inspiration to them and to anyone who met her, finding that common bond, making them feel important, loved, and respected. Bea always thought of others first, demonstrating grace, wisdom and strength.

She was a whiz at Bridge and Scrabble, knew the meaning of nearly every word in the dictionary, and was able to recall seemingly every major event in world history. Bea’s doctors affectionately joked that her brain was a repository of all the world’s information. She could name flowers, trees, and birds, finding something distinct and beautiful about each.

Bea woke up every day with a "smile on her face and a song in her heart", eager to learn something new. She was meticulous and organized. A passionate lover of books, she especially treasured her Shakespeare club. Her passion for music and theater inspired Bea’s many visits to Stratford and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Bea was born in Ann Arbor on July 27, 1923 to Harry and Vernona Hutton Bouchard. Bea was predeceased by her sisters Marybelle Hanna and Joanne Robins. The family spent her early years in China, traveling there by ocean freighter. Her father taught civil engineering in Tientsin, returning in 1928. Bea attended Tappan School and University High School. She spent many summers at University of Michigan’s Camp Davis near Jackson, Wyoming, which her father helped establish and where he taught surveying. Bea entered University of Michigan in 1940 and pledged the Collegiate Sorosis sorority. She met her future husband, Ted, of Flint, who was in the class of 1942.

At the onset of World War II, Ted entered the Army and served in Merrill’s Marauders Rangers unit in Burma. Bea herself supported the war effort by joining the Navy as an officer in the WAVES. She worked in Communications where encrypted messages were deciphered. Sometimes her work entailed delivering documents to the War Room in the White House, in what today would be considered very casual circumstances.

After the war ended, Bea and Ted wed in 1945 at St. Mary’s student chapel. They spent 40 years in Flint where they raised seven children. In 1985 they moved to Suttons Bay, a jewel on Lake Michigan, before returning to Ann Arbor in 2002.

Bea taught remedial reading in the Flint schools. She was an active volunteer of many organizations, including Junior League, YWCA, Leelanau food pantry and the women’s hiking club “Walkie Talkies”, PEO, Ann Arbor Thrift Shop, Ann Arbor City Club, Ann Arbor Golf & Outing, bridge clubs, and book clubs. She enjoyed playing (and watching) golf and tennis, and has been a loyal Michigan football fan from the days of Tom Harmon.

Bea nurtured and treasured countless friendships everywhere she lived. The family home was enhanced by frequent potluck dinners, bridge clubs and cocktail parties. Bea was also instrumental in the lives of her children's friends. She knew and cared about them and helped expand their horizons. She took them together with her own children to farmers’ markets, helping them identify and appreciate Michigan-grown fruits and vegetables. She was immensely proud of her state, her many friends and her family.

Her love knew no bounds. Her greatest accomplishment and joy was her marriage to her beloved Teddy, who predeceased her in 2013 after 67 years of marriage.

Bea leaves behind her seven children: Deborah Nelson of Salinas CA; Matthew (Jane Brierley) of Grand Rapids; Martha Morrow of Melbourne, Australia; Jennifer (Daniel Gurskis) of Garden City, NY; Mary (Daniel) Ziegeler of Omena, MI; Elizabeth (Robert) Sugar of Salinas, CA and Ann Arbor, MI; Helen (Carl) Chamberlain of Prairie Village, KS. Her 21 loving grandchildren are Jessica (Leeor) Cohen, Matthew (Jennifer) Nelson, Elizabeth (James) Harvey, and Amy (Julian) Faras; Katherine, Molly and Timothy McLogan; Helen (Kisina) Sofele and Elizabeth Morrow; Emily, Teddy and Elizabeth Gurskis; Claire, Daniel and Charles Ziegeler; Sarah, Hannah and Betsy Sugar; Elaine, William and Henry Chamberlain. Bea’s great-grandchildren are Ryan and Spencer Nelson, Ari and Beatrice Cohen, and Nathan and Dexter Harvey.

Funeral Mass will be on Friday, February 26 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Mary’s Student Chapel in Ann Arbor (331 Thompson Street). In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Mary’s Student Chapel, Capuchin Soup Kitchen, or University of Michigan Camp Davis Rocky Mountain Field Station.