Lydia W. (Wright) Beaumont

Lydia Wright Beaumont,

92, of Kirkland Village in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, passed away unexpectedly on October 30, 2018. She was born in Miraj, India, on August 7, 1926 the daughter of Presbyterian Missionaries, the late Adelaide and Horace K. Wright. She spent her first years in India and attended the Woodstock School in Mussoorie,

India until World War II, at which time her family returned to the US, settling in Northfield, Massachusetts, where she continued her schooling at Northfield Mount Hermon School (then Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies). Upon her graduation, she attended Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1946 with a dual degree in mathematics and astronomy, and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. After her college graduation she taught math at St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock, Virgina for a year. She then relocated to Boston, Massachusetts where she held a supervisory position at General Electric. In 1952 she married Andre G. Beaumont and they relocated to White Plains,

NY, and then Darien, Connecticut where Lydia was employed by IBM. In 1958, after the birth of their first child, Lydia stopped working to be a full-time mother. In 1966 the family relocated to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where Lydia remained for the rest of her life. After over a decade as a stay at home mother, she earned a degree in accounting from Churchman’s Business School in Easton, PA, and returned to work, working part-time as a small business accountant, and then, full-time as the financial manager for the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem where she remained until her retirement. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem from the time the family arrived in Bethlehem until her death. She sang in the church choir until she was no longer able. She volunteered many hours to her church, the AAUW, and to the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association, Annual Fund, and local alumnae club. In 2016 she was awarded the Mount Holyoke College Alumnae Association Loyalty Award for her dedication and efforts on behalf of the college. Lydia was a devoted sister, mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend. She loved her dogs, opera, tennis, her New York Yankees, and was an avid bridge player, accomplished singer, pianist, and organist. She was seldom found without a book or a crossword puzzle. Lydia was predeceased by her grandparents and parents, her infant brother, Edward, sisters Alice Conkey and Mary Rainey, and brother, Ted. She is survived by her daughters, Patrice Kokola (Walter) of Tucson,

AZ, and Louise Peach (Carl) of Williston, VT, three grandchildren, Hannah, Tomas, and Nickerson Peach, and step-grandchildren John and Carolee Kokola of Charlottesville, VA and Chicago, Il. She is also survived by 8 beloved and devoted nieces, several grandnephews and nieces, and many beloved and devoted friends.

Services will be held at the family’s convenience. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to Mount Holyoke College, the Kirkland Village Benevolent Fund, or the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem.