Kathryn L. (LaPlaca) Beach

On October 31, Our Lord bestowed heavenly peace upon His earthly child, Kathryn L. Beach (nee LaPlaca). Kathryn was the first daughter of John and Rosalie LaPlaca of Winsted and spent a good part of her life traveling with her husband, Bill, a thirty-two year old Air Force veteran. The location of these military assignments included Formosa during the Chinese mainland struggle between the Nationalist war lord Chiang Kai-shek and Marxist Chairman Mao Tse-tung.  Bill was an advisor to the Nationalist Air Force. To get to Formosa, Kathryn and her two small children braved two naval crossings before the time of non-stop flights over the Pacific. The family embraced the culture of Formosa, a confluence of both Japan and China. Formosa was the Japanese name for the island now known as Taiwan. Among the number of stateside assignments was a posting to Alaska. We suspect that her husband Bill, an avid outdoorsman, may have volunteered for this assignment…a shock to Kathryn. However, he made all this up to her later with a three year assignment to Hawaii. With postings to both the Far East and Hawaii, Kathryn fell in love with Asian art and culture. Much of the décor of their retirement home in Winsted reflected this influence. Fortunately for her family, and taking after her mother Rosalie LaPlaca, Kathryn had a deep interest in baking and the preparation of interesting foods. One of the inheritances she leaves her sons is a collection of over 600 cookbooks with recipes covering the World. If only one of them had learned to cook! Kathryn is pre-deceased by husband, but leaves behind a sister Rosalie (Jenny Poucher), a brother Joseph LaPlaca; children William and Michael; grandchildren Sarah, Lauren, Philip and Avery…and an adorable great granddaughter Vivian Jane. A funeral Mass will be held at St. Joseph church at 10:00am on Tuesday, November 7, 2017. An internment will take place at St. Joseph New Cemetery just after. The family’s sincere thank you are extended to the staff at Atria Assisted Living, the doctors and nurses at St. Francis Hospital and the nurses of Masonicare.  To leave online condolences, please visit www.maloneyfuneral.com

 Service Information