Brian M. Beaudry

Brian Beaudry, a longtime Bettendorf resident (and BHS Alumnus), passed away at Clarissa C Cook Hospice House on 12/27/2023 after an extended illness. He was 73 years old.

Brian spent his first ten years growing up in Rock Island, where he attended both Sacred Heart and St. Pius Catholic schools. In 1960, he moved to Bettendorf, where he attended Lourdes Catholic school, graduating in 1964. He then spent one year attending Assumption High School, transferred to Bettendorf High School the following year, and graduated from there in 1968.

Brian started playing guitar when he was 14, and quickly became an accomplished “Rhythm” guitar player. In his sophomore year of high school, he helped form (along with classmate Todd Wendland), and performed in a popular band (known as “combos” at the time), called “The Nobility.” He was also the guitarist in Bettendorf High’s “Pops Chorus” group during his senior year. For this and other music-related activities that year, he was awarded a (“high school”) Letter in Music upon graduation.

Brian went on to attend the University of Iowa, where he earned both a BA degree in Psychology, and a BS degree in Computer Science (and would later earn an MS degree in Computer Science from Marycrest University in Davenport, Iowa).

He began his professional career in Information Technology (as it’s known today) in 1980, at the John Deere Harvester works in East Moline, Illinois. He temporarily left Deere, and worked for both the FMC Corporation in California, and Nalco Chemical in Illinois, before returning to Deere and the Quad Cities. He worked for most of the remainder of his career as an IT Analyst for John Deere Information Systems in East Moline, and retired from there on December 31, 2006.

During his career, he continued his interest in playing and performing in bands, and joined an “Oldies” rock group known as “The System” (comprised mainly of fellow IT people within Deere), who played on and off together for 25+ years!

Brian was also an avid motorcyclist, and owned around ten motorcycles during his life, starting at age 16. His first was a red Yamaha “Bonanza 180,” the first motorcycle to come equipped with an electric start! His last (and favorite) was also a red Yamaha – this time a “VStar 950,” a cruiser-style motorcycle which would get nods of approval, even from the Harley guys! But (at least after his teens - and this set him apart from the “Harley crowd”), he always wore a helmet, and provided one for any passenger.

During his retirement years, Brian pursued his interests in Science and Philosophy, and spent a lot of his time with various discussion groups devoted to these and related topics. He was a firm believer in Science (and its methodology), not only as a means for determining the truth of things, but also as a guide in understanding and dealing with life’s most challenging questions.

Brian’s surviving family members include (on his mother’s side): his cousins John and Sara Banick; Karen and Andy Dennhardt; and Jennifer Cochuyt. On his father’s side are his brother Eric, nephew Dan (Casey) ; sister Adrianne "DeeDee" Doeckel (Mike); niece Lindsey Greenzweig (Ryan); and niece Jennifer Haig (John), and, many great nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Jeanne, and step-father Jerry; his father, Adrian, step-mother MaryAnn, a brother, Brandon, and step-sister Sheree.

Condolences may be shared at CremationQC.com.