Henry Paul Beaugez

A Family Tribute to God and to a man: Henry Paul Beaugez, Jr. passed away on Thursday, November 7, 2013 at age 75. Henry was born on November 12, 1937 to Henry Paul Beaugez, Sr. and Sible Mae Webb Beaugez. He lived his life as a Christian, unashamed of his faith in Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. He was an avid reader of the Bible, his favorite Book. He was Southern Baptist and a current member of Bellefountain Baptist Church. He grew up in First Baptist Church, Ocean Springs where he later, as an adult, taught Sunday School to 9th grade boys, and was twice elected to serve as a deacon. His family will miss him, yet they take comfort in knowing, because of his faith in Christ our Lord, he is with God now. Henry earned the love and respect of his family, especially his children to whom he was a huge inspiration. They loved being with him and talking with their dad, reminiscing funny stories from their growing up years and his. They looked to him for advice and guidance, knowing he would never intentionally steer them wrong. Henry was employed by Ingalls Ship Yard, Pascagoula, where he worked in Quality Assurance (QA) as an Instructor/Auditor. Eventually he was forced to a medical retirement, after a 20-year career. His co-workers simply called him “Beau”. One co-worker in particular, John Lewis, still living in Pascagoula, became more than a co-worker in QA, he became Henry’s friend. Henry was an enthusiastic reader who particularly loved history and geography. He kept up with political issues on all levels, local, state, national, and the world. An Atlas was always nearby when he read. Henry never left the USA, yet he traveled the world through the hundreds of books he read in his lifetime. He loved good music. He listened and taught his children to appreciate music. He leaves memories for his family to treasure through a number of tender poems he wrote. Henry Beaugez was an “un-sung hero” to the world, but not to his family. Henry loved sports. At Ocean Springs High School he played football under the late Coach Clay Boyd. He learned what "Coach" called basic fundamentals of the game, which he later found worked well also for living and working, on and off a ball field. In early adulthood, Henry used those skills learned when, after work, he met Peewee football boys on Freedom Field and taught the skills to eager young athletes, most of whom went on to play for the Greyhounds themselves. His sports ventures took him beyond a playing field. He loved the place where he grew up, on Hellmers Lane at the back-end of Ocean Springs Harbor. As a child he learned from his dad a love for our coastal waters. His father, an oysterman, often took Henry, Jr. with him to the harbor early in the morning, where together they rowed into the MS Sound. Watching his father harvesting oysters gave Henry an early appreciation of “a hard-working man.” This taught him to appreciate all men who make their living out of our waters: the Sound, Davis Bayou, Fort Bayou, Graveline Bayou and the Barrier Islands. All of these were a big part of Henry’s life interests. For a boy growing up in Ocean Springs, he loved and found contentment in fishing for the varieties of seafood found in these waters. In his youth, Henry was a skillful swimmer and diver. He was a man totally comfortable in, on, or around our waters. When his own children were small, each would be required to learn to swim; each would be taught by their dad to fish themselves, thus he influenced each one in their own appreciation for where they had grown up. This man is leaving much and many things of lasting value to his family In sports, also, Henry was an avid gun lover. In earlier years and in good health, he loved hunting. When he could hunt no more, he joined the Coast Rifle and Pistol Club where he could hone his skills as a marksman in target-shooting. Then he took up the precision sport of re-loading his own ammunition, a tedious one-man hobby that kept the mind sharp. Perfecting “the load” to hit the target’s bulls-eye consistently was a constant challenge he enjoyed. Henry loved his country. At age seventeen, still in high school, he convinced his mother to sign permission for him to join the Army National Guard. At the time of his Honorable Discharge nine years later, he was a Staff Sergeant. Here, a partially paraphrased quote from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address summarizes Henry Beaugez’s life: "The world will little note, nor long remember what is written here, but Henry’s family will never forget this man and what he did here." Our lives are richer and fuller because of him. He gave more than he took. We shared his best years with him and in the harder years, when health was gone, we were still a united family. With his physical limitations gone, mental health was profoundly present. His dry sense of humor remained constant; he complained little and never asked, “Why me?” Henry was a man who lived well the life God gave him. Henry was one of four children. His three siblings, Oswald Paul Beaugez, Joyce Beaugez Westbrook, and Gwendolyn Beaugez Harry predeceased him, as did his parents. Also preceding Henry in death were his father and mother-in-law, Coach Clay and Evelyn Boyd, and his never forgotten lifetime friend, Dwaine Webb, who died tragically in 1995 in a car accident. Surviving Henry is his wife of 54 years, Jane Boyd Beaugez; two daughters, Sarah Jane Beaugez, Ocean Springs, Leigh Beaugez O’Connor and son-in-law, Eddie O'Connor (NC), and his son Jason Christian Beaugez of Ocean Springs. Henry also leaves five grandchildren, Rebecca Leigh O’Connor Bradley and husband, Gorham Bradley and John O’Connor (NC), Joy Morris Martin, Jesse Morris and Hannah Morris Chism (CO), all of whom gave him much pleasure in life, along with three great-grandchildren, one his namesake: Henry “Hank” Bradley, Ava Leigh Bradley and Reece O’Connor Bradley (NC); nieces and nephews; two brothers-in-law and cousins from both the Beaugez and Webb families. Southern Care Hospice has been in our home lately, guiding us through uncharted waters. Thank you for seeing that we had all things needed to make Henry as comfortable as possible. The Ocean Springs Chapel of Bradford O'Keefe Funeral Home is in charge of the Private Graveside Service at Evergreen Cemetery, in Ocean Springs on Sunday, November 10, 2013, at 3 pm, for family and close friends. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you give to the Christian church of your choice or to Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) for the further spreading of The Gospel of Jesus Christ, mailing address: 4350 Westmont Dr., Charlotte, NC 28217.