NASHUA–Oliva Joseph Beaulieu, age 88, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, February 4, 2019. He was the husband of Clare (Donnelly) Beaulieu, with whom he spent 60 wonderful years of marriage.
Born in Taunton, Mass. on December 18, 1930, he was the son of the late Alphonse and Alma (Maltais) Beaulieu, who emigrated from Quebec in the 1890s. An exceptional student-athlete, Oliva was drafted to play professional baseball at the age of 16, but chose to pursue his education. He was later offered a football scholarship to Brown University, but had to decline because even the incidental costs of an Ivy League school were beyond his family’s limited means. Instead, he attended the newly founded Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., commuting by bus (or hitchhiking) between home, school, and a full-time job he held to pay his tuition. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in English, the first member of his family to achieve that distinction. He remained a proud and active Stonehill alumnus for his entire life.
After graduating, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, completing the Officer Candidate School course, then serving in the Philippines. After two years of service, he was honorably discharged with the rank of Lieutenant. He went on to a distinguished career in business, and was universally recognized by his colleagues for his extraordinary energy, skill, and integrity. He was also active in several charities, including the Boys’ Towns of Italy, from which he received Man of the Year honors, and served in a number of local community organizations, in which he was invariably elected to leadership roles. He had a capacious mind (he read at least book a week throughout his ife), a sharp sense of humor, and a boundless joie de vivre.
Besides his loving wife, Oliva is survived by his five children: Marc and his wife Pamela of Nashua; John and his wife Helen of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Michael of Lowell, Mass.; Amy Duggan and her husband Thomas of Huntingtown, Md.; Ann Marie of Cochituate, Mass.; and nine grandchildren (Elizabeth, Tanner, Alana, Sabrina, Jack, Julianne, Olivia, Joseph, and Mel), as well as his brother Albert J. Beaulieu of North Carolina.
Friends and family are invited to call at the ANCTIL-ROCHETTE & SON FUNERAL HOME, 21 Kinsley Street, Nashua, on Friday February 8 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. Oliva’s funeral service will be held Saturday February 10 at 10 a.m. at Immaculate Conception Church, 216 East Dunstable Road, Nashua. Burial will follow in St. Louis Cemetery, 752 W. Hollis St., Nashua. As an expression of sympathy, donations may be made in Oliva’s honor to The Stonehill College Fund, Office of Advancement, 320 Washington St., Easton, MA 02357. To leave an online memory or condolence, please visit www.anctil-rochette.com.