Obituary: Beatrice J. (DuPont) Steeneck, 86, of Fairfield

From Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home

Beatrice Jean (DuPont) Steeneck, 86, of Fairfield, beloved wife of the late John H. Steeneck, passed away peacefully in her home on August 2, 2017, after a long illness and many complications following a fall in January 2009.

Bea was born in Bridgeport, CT to the late Isabel Nunes-DaGrella DuPont and the late David DuPont. She was raised Roman Catholic and was a proud member of the Daughters of Mary, as a child. Bea was an avid reader all of her life and loved children, animals, and all things chocolate. She had a passion for travel and was a friend to all. She encouraged her children to be kind, and develop strong friendships, as she was enriched many times over by so doing.

Bea was very bright and a natural beauty. She graduated from Warren Harding High School in 1948 and was passionately involved in Junior Achievement. She attended the University of CT for a year, until she learned she needed to pass a swimming test in order to graduate. She quickly transferred to the University of Bridgeport, where she majored in history. There, she participated in the Drama Club, and the Debating Society, was a delegate to the CT Intercollegiate Scholastic Legislature, sang in the UB Chorus, was President of the Political Relations Forum and worked on Adlai Stevenson's campaign for President.

Upon graduating from UB, she was one of 5 women admitted to Fordham University Law School. After her first year, she decided that the Law would not be a satisfying career for her and went on to get her master's and 6th year in Education at Fairfield University. She taught elementary education for 25 years, in Stratford and Bridgeport, but primarily in Trumbull.

Following her retirement from teaching, Bea went on to a successful career in real estate at Coldwell Banker, William Pitt and The Higgins Group.

Bea was a first-generation American. Like most, she worked hard because she saw her immigrant parents do the same. Throughout her life, she took on challenges of all sorts, fought for women's rights and tried to help people of all races, religions and genders. Above all else, she was kind, although she did not suffer fools easily. She usually squeezed 25 hours of work (be it taking care of her family, teaching children, helping to run family businesses or volunteering) into a 24 hour day. Of special note, Bea volunteered as an instructor in the Family to Family classes offered by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, as NAMI was exceptionally helpful to her family's coping with mental illness.

The things she did and the accolades she received were too numerous to mention individually. She had a passion for politics all of her life, but slid other interests around that, especially after she married a WASP Republican.

When her husband "converted" to Democrat in 1972 after his disgust from the Watergate scandal, she jumped back into politics heavily and happily. She was a Past President or officer of many organizations, including the American Association of University Women, the Trumbull Junior Women's Club, Trumbull Education Association, CT Education Association, Fairfield Democratic Women, Fairfield Democratic Town Committee, Church Women United and the Jewish Federation. She was an incredible seamstress, a Brownie and a Girl Scout Leader, and was elected to the Fairfield RTM (town council) multiple times. She was also instrumental in the creation of the original senior housing complexes in Fairfield. Bea was a delegate to the CT Democratic State Convention for decades and was a Democratic State Central Committeewoman for many years. Her political career culminated in her win of a seat as a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention in NY in 1992 where she cast a ballot for Bill Clinton and Al Gore.

Most importantly, she tried to be a good role model for and was a loving mother to her daughter Sherri Steeneck, also of Fairfield, and her late son, John H. (Jay) Steeneck II and a beloved, doting "grandmother" known as "Grandma Bea" to Hilary, Emily and Mallory Manning, Hannah-Lee Ellis and Chipper Steeneck. She leaves behind 2 brothers, Robert DuPont (wife Patricia), of Westport, and David DuPont of Trumbull, as well as several nieces and nephews and several great nieces and nephews. She was lovingly cared for by many, but for almost nine years by Nicole Doman, Tamara Muschett and Eduardo Ewerton, all of whom she loved dearly and became part of the extended family.

Visitation will take place on Sunday, August 6, 2017 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Shaughnessey Banks Funeral Home, 50 Reef Rd. in Fairfield Center. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Monday, August 7, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. directly at St. Thomas Aquinas Church. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the International Institute of Connecticut, 670 Clinton Ave., Bridgeport, CT 06605, https://iiconn.org/donate or to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 3803 N. Fairfax Drive, Suite 100 Arlington, VA 22203, https://www.nami.org.

To send an online condolence, please visit www.shaughnesseybanks.com.