William A. BEAUCLAIR

BEAUCLAIR, William A.
William A. Beauclair, 87, of Farmington, passed away on August 5, 2013. He was born in Brockton, MA, the son of Alfred F. Beauclair and Elizabeth (Murphy) Beauclair. Bill graduated from Brockton High School and served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Philippines. Upon completion of his military service, Bill enrolled in Stamford University and then the University of Michigan where he earned both undergraduate and graduate degrees in geology. While at Michigan, Bill met and married his wife of 61 years, Julie (Williams). Bill began his career in the oil industry as an exploration geologist. He and Julie moved almost annually around the United States as oil drilling dictated, with Bill spending much of the time living under the stars in the field. During this period, Bill and Julie saw the birth of their two daughters, Michelle and Jeanette. As the focus of oil drilling shifted to foreign sources, Bill was asked to move his family overseas to live in remote locations and to send his young children to be educated in England or Switzerland. Rather than accept this arrangement at a time when employees were expected to oblige without question, Bill refused and decided to forsake his education and training and leave the oil industry. He moved on to a series of business ventures that ranged from start-ups to a senior management position with a major department store chain. But his heart never left the field of geology. Bill was an exceptionally intelligent man with an incisive analytical mind and an iron will. His adult personality was shaped by the extreme poverty he endured as a child during the Great Depression, when he was compelled to move in with relatives because his parents could not afford to support their three children. This experience drove Bill to strive for self-sufficiency and financial security his entire life. He became a successful investor who loved to read financial reports, chart stocks, and watch the ticker. When not reading Graham and Dodd or studying geology journals, Bill was also a talented artist who created beautiful paintings and sketches. Above all else, those who knew Bill will remember him as a man who possessed a steely determination to live his life his way. Bill leaves his wife Juliet Beauclair of Farmington; his daughters Michelle Vallo and her husband Gary Vallo of Glastonbury, and Jeanette Beauclair and her husband Charles Smith of Hillsborough, NC; as well as two granddaughters Mary and Grace Vallo of Glastonbury. Bill is predeceased by his sister Mary B. Fallgren and is survived by his brother Richard C. Beauclair of Selbyville, DE.
There are no calling hours and services will be private. Memorial donations in Bill's memory may be made to the Salvation Army.