Gayle Lorraine Beaudoin

1943 - 2023

GAYLE LORRAINE BEAUDOIN
July 17, 1943 ˜ May 5, 2023

Gayle Lorraine Beaudoin, age 79, of Vancouver, WA, passed away peacefully on May 5, 2023. She was born to Dwight and Julianna Betzner in Portland, OR, on July 17, 1943. Family and friends were everything to her and she will be dearly missed by many.

She is survived by her husband of 61 years, Joe Beaudoin; her sister, Danna (Gary) Barbo; her seven children, Michelle Shumaker, Scott (Dolly) Beaudoin, David (Amy) Beaudoin, Dani (Charlie) Bender, Mike (Gina) Beaudoin, Andy Beaudoin and Nichole (Rod) Chambers; her twelve grandchildren, Adam, Lauren, Garrett, Kenny, Kerry, Gabby, Shelby, Travis, Allie, Madisyn, Westyn, and Carson; and her seven great-grandchildren, Cora, Dotti, Lukas, Elena, Lily, Greyson, and Fay. She was preceded in death by her mother and father; her sister, Leanne; and brother, Kent, and newborn son Paul.

Gayle weathered a lot of storms. She was a survivor of the Vanport flood in 1948, the Columbus Day storm of 1962 and a tornado that hit the area in 1972. Despite having scoliosis in her youth, spending months at Shriner’s Hospital in a full body cast and being told she could never have children, she went on to create one impressive family. She was small but mighty.

Gayle grew up in Portland and attended Jefferson High School. In 1962, she married Joe and then started growing a family. Over the years she did it all really and had so many talents. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, friend, business owner, seamstress, scorekeeper, and much more. Gayle, affectionately known by the community as “Mrs. Joe”, owned and operated Joe’s Place Farms and Mrs. Joe’s Kitchen for decades, along with her husband, where her recipes were used to create baked goods and sweets that were enjoyed by countless customers.

At home she enjoyed reading, sewing, knitting, listening to music, having coffee with friends and collecting cookie jars and pottery. She loved her pets (dogs, pot-bellied pig, goldfish). Gayle and her husband were able to get away and travel to destinations including New Zealand and Hawaii, take road trips exploring the Pacific Northwest and beyond, and attend car races supporting the BRW Racing Team.

There will be a memorial service at Evergreen Memorial Gardens (1101 NE 112th Ave., Vancouver, WA 98684) on Sunday, May 21, 2023 at 12:30 p.m. in the main chapel. A celebration of life will follow on site. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Shriner’s Hospital or St. Judes Hospital.
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