Former UD prof. remembered for work with disabled

Beatrice Bedard, a retired English professor and director of disabled services, died Tuesday, Jan. 21. Bedard is remembered as a loving mother and faithful UD community member. Courtesy of Treffley Bedard

By: Meredith Whelchel – Managing Editor

Former University of Dayton professor Beatrice “Bea” Bedard passed away Tuesday, Jan. 21, after years of service to the Flyer community.

Bedard and her husband were active in the English department, serving as a professor and chair respectively. She was also a Dominican sister for seven years, but left to marry her husband.

Bedard’s son, Treffley, said his mother was most active in creating a handicap-friendly environment on campus.

“My mom worked as the director of disabled services for years and she loved it,” Treffley said. “She also worked in the speech facilitator program, and people always told me she was their favorite teacher.”

Treffley, who graduated in 1989, now works in Hollywood, Calif. with a non-profit. He said his parents were “fixtures” of the UD community until their deaths.

“My mom was a giving person,” he said. “I met her landlord’s son yesterday and he kept telling me how much she helped him while he was at UD. And he’s just one of hundreds she helped at the university.”

Friends and family will gather to remember Bedard Saturday, Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Chapel. A reception in Torch Lounge will immediately follow the memorial.