Obituary of Brian Kenneth Beaton

Brian Beaton passed away peacefully in Fredericton Hospice on Saturday, October 2, 2021. Before going into his final sleep, Brian spoke of his love for his children and grandchildren, his pride in what they managed to make of their lives, and his gratitude for all the love they gave him. Born into a seven-generation family dairy farm in Cumberland in the Ottawa Valley, he was the son of the late Kenneth and Wilma Beaton and stepson to Jean. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his beloved wife Lorraine Kenny in January 2010. He is survived by his partner Susan, his sisters Marilyn and Laurie, his brothers Mark (Evelyn) and Terry (Denise), his four children, Leilani, Clayton (Krista), Serena (Shayne), and Stefanie (Carl), 10 grandchildren: Alliah (Malik), Jordan, Chalise, Chloe, Tristan, Keilana, Willow, Skye, Caden, and River, and his great-grandson Giiwadin. Brian graduated from the University of Waterloo and soon began a career spanning more than three decades in Northern Ontario, developing telecommunications infrastructure and services. Brian is remembered in many fly-in Indigenous communities in Northwestern Ontario as the manager of the team that built K-Net, the largest Indigenous-owned and operated telecommunications services company in the world, partnering on fibre broadband rollouts across thousands of kilometers of Canadian Shield, installing community satellite dishes and cell phone towers on the tundra up to Hudson Bay, and bringing the Internet and many digital services to remote communities. When asked why he left K-Net to move to Fredericton in 2014, he often replied "it's a love story." After moving to Fredericton to be with Susan, he also fell in love with New Brunswick. The family will be receiving friends, relatives and everyone touched by Brian's generous spirit for a time to share and celebrate his life at McAdams Funeral Home and Cremation Center, 160 York Street in Fredericton (458-9170) on Thursday, October 7 from 4 to 7pm. Masks, proof of double vaccination, and photo ID will be required upon entering the funeral home. Brian's family is grateful for the loving care he received from the Oncology unit and the Palliative care unit at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Hospital, the Oncology Department at the Saint John Regional Hospital, the NB Extra-Mural Program, Hospice Fredericton, and the Fredericton Downtown Community Health Centre. In lieu of flowers, donations to the NB Media Co-op would be appreciated by his family. The NB Media Co-op published a tribute to Brian at: https://nbmediacoop.org/2021/10/03/remembering-brian-beaton/