Warren City, Ohio Fire Lt. Don Beauchene, 54, died Tuesday after being hospitalized with COVID-19. He leaves behind his wife and 11 kids. A beloved Warren firefighter passed away on Tuesday, one week to the day of getting diagnosed with Covid-19. The family of Lt. Don Beauchene is remembering a father, husband and grandfather who lived his life to help others.
“He went out of his way, everyday, to make me feel loved,” said Michelle Beauchene, Don’s wife. “I’m like in shock but yet trying to be strong. I’m just really missing Donnie.”
Don spent more than 25 years with the Warren Fire Department and started experiencing cold like symptoms two weeks ago. On November 10th, Michelle took Don to the hospital where he was diagnosed with Covid-19. Four days later, Michelle said Don was unresponsive. He was rushed to the hospital and placed on a ventilator. Michelle couldn’t be there with him, but remembers her last communication via zoom Tuesday morning.
“When I told him how much I loved him and miss him and couldn’t wait to see him, he put his hand up in sign language and motioned I love you to the nurse so she could tell me that he loved me,” Michelle said. A few hours later, Don passed away.
He leaves behind eleven children, including four that he and Michelle adopted several years ago. Media highlited that adoption which included little Jamie, who had received a life-saving liver transplant. Whether it was volunteering at the Warren Family Mission, going to New York after 9-11 or cleaning up in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, Don is described as someone who puts others ahead of himself, but always puts his family first and is right there when they need him.
“The first one to volunteer to help anybody that needed a hand and I think it’s just years of being a fireman where they are unselfish and they will run in and do what is needed to get done and what no one wants to do and so I think that carried with him all the time, not just at the fire station but with everything that he did with his family and in life,” said David Danforth, Don’s son.
“He was the best dad a daughter could ask for,” said Madison Beauchene, Don’s daughter.
“He just always encouraged, supported anything, any dream that we had,” Michelle said. “He made it happen.”
Don Beauchene was 54 years old.