CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

Gresham man fitted for funeral suit

Outlook, The - 5/9/2018

Gresham man's last wish not to burden son with last expenses, gets fitted for his own funeral suit.

------------

One of Vietnam Army veteran Joseph Beaupre, 73, last wishes is to not burden his son with funeral expenses, but he needed a nice suit to wear for the occasion.

Beaupre is a hospice patient with Seasons Hospice & Palliative Care in Portland and he lives at Regency Gresham Nursing & Rehabilitation Center in Gresham.

Hospice service staff contacted Jos. A. Bank, a men's clothing store in Portland, and employees from the store agreed to come fit for the suit as his residence on Friday, May 4.

"The suit, actually, it feels comfortable," Beaupre said. "I was going to wear it to the funeral, but I might wear it to a better occasion."

A D V E R T I S I N G | Continue reading below

Andrea Zimmerman, RN case manager for Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, said that Beaupre expressed a wish to not burden his son with funeral expenses. So they reached out to Jos. A Bank that agreed to come out and do the fitting for free and provide the suit at a discounted rate.

The charitable arm of the hospice service, Season Foundation, plans to purchase the suit for Beaupre.

His son Tracey Beaupre attended the suit fitting celebration. His father was placed on hospice care 6 months ago because of end stage Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Dilate.

"I'm just shocked by the people who put this on," Tracey Beaupre said. "We really appreciate it."

During the celebration Dominic Tapia, a volunteer who visits with Beaupre on a weekly basis, presented him with a pin to thank him for his military service.