“Living passionately with compassion” is a way of life for Sr. Beatrice (Bea) LaFramboise, and she’s touched the lives of countless individuals over the course of her six decades as a Sister of Providence by truly living this principle.
The oldest of seven siblings, Sr. Bea attributes her strong faith to her mother, Gloria, who instilled in her daughter a passion for those on the margins.
During her growing-up years in Sunnyside, Washington, Sr. Bea remembers making visits to Crewport, a migrant camp, to bring basic supplies. Her family appreciated their mom’s energy and passion for all people. They knew that all were welcome at their dinner table and there was space on the floor for sleeping bags for those needing a place to sleep.
Upon hearing the call to religious life, Sr. Bea followed the steps of her cousins — Srs. Francella LaFramboise, SP, and Karin Dufault, SP — and entered the Sisters of Providence in 1965.
Sr. Bea has been blessed and privileged to have a variety of ministries throughout her religious life. After ten years as a pre-school teacher, she began a long ministry of social ministry to those on the margins — beginning with Providence Regina House on Cherry Hill, where she introduced the “service learning” for Bush School and for many Catholic High Schools in Seattle.
Later, she moved to Providence Hospitality House, a home for women and children in crisis needing temporary housing. There she began a long-term relationship with Seattle University students needing service-learning credits. “Those years had a profound effect on my spirituality, sense of community, personality development, and how I view and experience the world today,” said Sr. Bea.
Today, Sr. Bea’s “active retirement” hasn’t changed much. She’s a spiritual companion for SEEL (Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life), a hospitality minister and spiritual advisor for St. Vincent de Paul Conference at St. Joseph’s parish in Seattle, and she prepares weekly breakfast at the American Legion Center for those needing food and companionship (with both a listening ear and heart).
And if that isn’t enough for this petite Sister, she’s involved with community commitments: as a board member for the Intercommunity Peace and Justice Center and for the Providence Hospice Foundation Board, and she’s on the 2027 General Chapter Planning Committee for the Sisters of Providence.
Sr. Bea shares her creativity making vibrant greeting cards, personal collages and art journals using her nature photos. She loves gatherings, cooking, and celebrating life’s events.
Sr. Bea reflects on her 60th Jubilee year: “I’m filled with gratitude to all who have journeyed with me through my life’s events.”
From Anne Lamott:
“I do not understand the mystery of grace — only that it meets us where we are and does not leave us where it found us.”