Paul David Bedard

Paul David Bedard, 74, of Charlottesville, Virginia, previously of Chester, Virginia, passed away on May 18, 2022, surrounded by his loving family. A retired Army Major, Paul lived a life of service not only to country but to others in need.

Paul was born in Superior, WI in 1947. His father served in the U.S. Airforce, which led the family on many adventures including driving an airstream trailer from the Air Force base in Pensacola, Florida to Anchorage, Alaska, where they lived in their one bedroom trailer with three little kids (his brother, Steve was born there) for several years. Then they moved to South Carolina, and then to Guam, where he went to high school. Paul was very athletic in those days and loved playing football and baseball. He graduated from high school in Guam and then his folks finally settled in Greenville, South Carolina and Paul attended Clemson University.

Paul joined the U.S. Army in 1970 and served as an officer for 20 years, taking him and his family to places including Germany (where Michelle was born); Ft. Benning, Georgia (where Beth was born); South Korea, where he was stationed without the family for a year; Ft. Carson in Colorado Springs, CO; Spartanburg, SC (where Matthew and John were born), where he was the ROTC instructor at Wofford College. The family then moved back to Germany (Baumholder), and finally to Chester, Virginia, where he was stationed at Ft. Lee and eventually retired in 1991. Paul then worked for 25 years for Defense contractors and the Federal Government at Ft Lee, retiring in 2016.

Paul was a dedicated, supportive, loving father. For Paul, family always came first and he especially loved playing ball with his kids and going to their t-ball games, soccer and softball games and going on family camping trips. He supported his children in their life goals and dreams. This included countless trips packing and moving four kids in and out of dorms, apartments and homes. He was gifted with the”packing genes”.

Paul was a big believer in serving his community and was always helping others. He was very active in his church and volunteered coordinating the church picnic (which was a huge undertaking), was coordinator for services, enjoyed being involved in the church’s men’s group, volunteered to organize church trips to the men’s homeless shelter in Richmond, helped with CARITAS – a program to shelter the homeless during the winter months and he volunteered for the Red Cross program of training emergency shelter teams for natural disasters. He served on several church councils and enjoyed church “clean-up” days, hauling metal for recycling and attending community advocacy events.

Paul is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Dorothy Whitaker Bedard (Dotty); his sister, Francine Bedard; his brother, Steve Bedard; his daughter, Dorothy Michelle Bedard (Steve Agan) of Asheville, NC; his daughter Elizabeth (Beth) Lea Bedard (Martin Garrison) of Springfield, VA; his son, Matthew Francis Bedard (Laurie) of Charlotte, NC; his son John David Bedard (Lauren) of Charlottesville, VA; and 10 grandchildren, Olivia, Maggie, AnnMarie, Sophia, Amelia, Greer, Greyson, Celia, Eloise and Charlotte.

He was preceded in death by his father, Raoul Francis Bedard and his mother, Lorna Elizabeth Bedard of Greenville, SC.

A memorial service will be held at Sojourners United Church of Christ on Sunday, May 29, 2022, at 2 p.m. Catered reception to follow to share memories of Paul with friends and family. 1017 Elliott Ave. Charlottesville, VA 22902 (corner of Elliott and Monticello Ave.) Due to a current surge of COVID cases, masks will be required indoors.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Unbound www.unbound.org, Unbound partners with families living in poverty around the world, empowering them to become self-sufficient and fulfill their desired potential. Or donations can be made to UVA Health Cancer Center—Virginia’s only NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center, where Paul received excellent care. www.Giving.uvahealth.com