Bruce Raymond Beaney
Bruce Raymond Beaney of Peconic died on Saturday, May 17, in Riverhead, in the presence of his loving family. He was 80 years old.
Bruce was born in Lake Placid, N.Y., Nov. 19,1944. He was the oldest child of William and Loretta Beaney. Bruce was a graduate of Lake Placid High School, where he starred in both hockey and baseball.
After high school, Bruce attended Norwich University in Northfield, Vt.; there, he majored in business administration and became a legendary defenseman on several championship Norwich hockey teams. For his many accomplishments, the Norwich Athletic Department later inducted him into their Hall of Fame three different times — once as an individual and two times as a member of different championship teams. Many of his teammates were his close lifelong friends. It was during his college years that Bruce met the love of his life, Barbara Froehlich, who would later become his wife.
After college Bruce taught for several years as a math teacher at Lyndon Institute in Lyndon, Vt. Eventually, Bruce and Barbara moved to Brookville, N.Y., where Bruce coached hockey, sold real estate and took over operations of the home farm of the Froehlich Standardbred horse racing team, Farmstead Acres.
Bruce and Barbara raised two daughters, Kim and Kristin (“Nikki”). Bruce took great joy in attending all their sporting events, no matter how far away.
Bruce and Barbara eventually moved to Peconic to live on the beach. Bruce loved to host his children and grandchildren at the beach for birthdays, the Fourth of July and other holidays. “Poppi” loved to cook on the grill, watch the kids play in the water and take them out to breakfast.
Bruce is survived by his wife, Barbara, and his daughters, Kim (Gary) Rowe of Brookville and Kristin “Nikki” (Jamie) Chisum of Wayland, Mass. He is also survived by his brother Bill (Judy) Beaney of Lake Placid; his sister, Cathy (Ken) Barkin of Portland, Ore.; and Jeff (Anne) Beaney of Scarborough, Maine. He leaves behind his grandchildren: Kyler and Teegan Rowe, Grete, Luke and Hadley Chisum, as well as many cherished nephews, nieces, grand-nephews and grand-nieces.
The family has made final arrangements for Bruce private. If desired, friends can make memorial contributions to the Lake Placid Youth Athletic Association (lpyaa.org) or Acadia Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Riverhead, (acadiacenter.com).
DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold is assisting the family.
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