Harold J. (Spike) Beaupre, 93, of Ocala FL passed away peacefully on February 7, 2022. Harold was born in Springfield Massachusetts in 1928 to the late Eugene and Claudia Beaupre. He proudly served our country as a sergeant in the U.S. Marines during the Korean War. He earned his Masters Degrees in Economics from Trinity College in Hartford CT and taught at Classical High School in Springfield MA.
Harold is predeceased by his beloved wife Shirley Denesha Beaupre and is survived by many nieces and nephews including James LaMondia and Cheryl Wilga and his church family including Jeremy and Rebecca Mayfield.
Harold was very kind, always had a joke handy, and was a history buff. He was a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and liked to reminisce about his Marine Corps days. He was proud to serve his country and was a founding member of the Marion County Honor Guard. Harold participated in over 1,000 Honor Guard funerals in the central Florida area. Harold served as a High Priest of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, as well as other callings within the church. Harold very much loved personal relationships, built many great friendships, and devoted countless hours bringing joy and helping others through difficult times.
A memorial service with Military Honors will be held Thursday March 17, 2022 at 1:00 PM at the Florida National Cemetery, Bushnell FL. A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 5:00 pm at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 12975 SE 55th Road (Old Ocala-Summerfield Rd.), Belleview FL 34420. In lieu of flowers, donations to the church will be greatly appreciated.
My condolences to Harold’s family and friends. I accompanied Harold to Washington, DC, in October, 2019, as his Honor Flight guardian. Since that time we would get together regularly to have lunch and catch up on what was going in each other’s lives. Harold had many interesting stories to tell and I got the distinct impression that he was one individual who would always stand up for what he believed, sometimes to the dismay of his superiors. He will be missed!
I went to Classical High School from 1974-1977 and this man saved my life and my sanity. I was extremely isolated and lonely during those 3 years. I never once set foot in the school cafeteria couldn’t tell you where it was or what it looked like. At lunch for 3 years I stood outside and waited for the next class and he was a teacher monitor making sure the kids didn’t leave the grounds we talked every day (every day I actually went to school – I was absent quite a bit because I hated every minute of it). We mostly talked about the Green Bay Packers because that was my team and he was familiar with the Lombardi era Packers I idolized. I owe him a debt I could never repay. I’m so sorry I never got a chance to tell him how grateful I was to have had his company for a 1/2 hour even standing in the rain or the freezing cold. God Bless this man’s soul.