Nelson J. “Chic” Bearce, 98, passed peacefully surrounded by family on Sunday, March 19 at home in Coventry.
Chic was born in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine on February 25, 1919. He grew up in nearby Parkman and graduated from Guilford High School in 1937, third in his class. He learned his trade at Fay & Scott in Dexter before moving to CT to work at Pratt & Whitney. When he was recruited in 1943, he chose the Navy for his service and was assigned to the Catfish, a brand new sub, and sailed from New London to the Pacific on a mine-detection mission. Even after the war ended, his crew patrolled the Japanese coast for a time before returning to the U.S. Chic returned to Pratt & Whitney, where he worked for several years second shift while he bought property and a building to start his own machine shop with the help of a friend and partner, Clarence Grant. He met his wife Betty at a USO in Willimantic, and they married in 1948. They lived in Willimantic for a couple of years while he also built their house in Coventry, close to his new business. After buying out his partner, Chic expanded the business and buildings to the point that the Bearce Machine Shop was well-known in the area, employing up to 15 men at one time. He sold the business to the Small Business Administration in 1979, the buildings were later purchased by the town, and Chic “retired.”
In the 70 years he lived and worked in Coventry, Chic also was very active in local politics and service clubs. He holds the distinction of 45 years of Rotary Club membership without missing a meeting, including 2 years as the president. He joined the American Legion in 1951 and was a lifetime member. He joined the Elks in 1962, serving on the Bingo committee for 35 years. Chic served on the Coventry Board of Finance from 1959 to 1969, and for Coventry’s 275th anniversary, he served as co-chair of the Celebration Committee. He and Betty participated in the Coventry CT/ Coventry England program for several years, exchanging visits with friends they made there. He will long be remembered as the Town Sexton, who worked very hard for 30 years after his retirement to keep the town cemeteries looking nice, and adding flagpoles and flower bulbs around the town. When the town needed some property he owned on Mason Street, rather than selling it to the town, he donated it. He loved Coventry and never wanted to move elsewhere.
Chic’s hobbies were hunting and fishing, which he enjoyed for many years, along with woodworking and beekeeping. Every fall, he would take a group of friends to the family cabin in Maine on a hunting trip. Every summer he took his family, which had grown with the addition of two daughters, to the cabin for vacation. The family shared many happy summertime events with a group of friends Chic had met at Coventry Lake after the war, and continued the relationships as their families grew.
The last eight years of his life, after Betty’s passing, Chic lived in Orchard Hills senior community in Coventry and then with his daughter Beverly and her husband Thomas Hughes in Coventry. He held weekly lunches starting in the 90s with a group of friends he dubbed the Lunch Bunch in the workshop at his house that continued through his time at Orchard Hills.
Besides Bev and Tom, Chic also leaves behind his younger daughter Brenda Bearce of Coventry, seven grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren, an older sister Dora Starbird of Sangerville, Maine, several nieces, nephews and cousins, some wonderful friends he saw regularly and many other friends he had not seen in a while. His friendly interest in others, his wonderful Maine accent and his love for his family will be greatly missed.
Arrangements are through Pietras Funeral Home in Coventry. Calling hours are Saturday, March 25 from 5-7 pm at the Funeral Home. Funeral service will be held on Sunday, March 26 at 3 pm at Christian Life Assembly in Willimantic. Memorial contributions may be made to The Coventry Historical Society, PO Box 534, Coventry CT 06238.
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