Audrey Miriam Hauprich (nee Bopp)

August 19, 1925 – December 2, 2022

OBITUARY

Audrey Miriam Hauprich, 97, of Ballston Spa was called to her heavenly home on December 2, 2022 after being a model of dignity and grace throughout a lengthy progressively degenerative illness. In a fitting tribute to her legacy, Audrey’s final breath was drawn inside her cherished longtime village residence which had been built upon a solid foundation of faith, hope, love and laughter.

Born in Albany on August 19, 1925, Audrey was the daughter of Valentine J. Bopp and Catherine (nee Tiernan) Bopp.

It was during a rehearsal for an Albany Light Opera Company production in 1946 that Audrey, then an Albany State Teachers’ College scholar, met and fell in love with Donald Gilbert Hauprich with whom she exchanged vows of Holy Matrimony in March 1948. Their two hearts continued beating as one as they welcomed 10 children before settling in Ballston Spa in 1968 to be closer to the teaching position Audrey had secured at the Malta Avenue Elementary School after earning her Master’s Degree from SUNY/Albany in 1967. Throughout her two decades at the village school, Audrey was admired and respected as a Class Act by fellow educators, parents and students alike.

A lifelong learner who believed the whole world was one’s classroom, Audrey actively engaged members of younger generations in many of her interests including crossword puzzles, Scrabble, trivia games and field trips. Her formal career as an educator ultimately spanned many decades and concluded with her teaching French at several area private elementary schools in the 1980s as well as being a CCD instructor and the church historian at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Ballston Spa.

The walls of Audrey’s Victorian homestead often reverberated with the sounds of music as she and Donald, who was a self-taught pianist, sang duets to the delight of family and friends. For many years the couple also raised their voices in songs of praise and worship as part of the choir at St. Mary’s.

Somehow Audrey, whose other passions included long-time patronage of the Saratoga County History Center at Brookside and the National Bottle Museum in Ballston Spa, travelled with Donald to such diverse destinations as Arizona, Gettysburg, PA, Canada and Italy. An exquisite seamstress, furniture reupholster and interior decorator, Audrey was additionally an avid heritage hunter who spent countless hours researching her ancestry accompanied by cousin Karen Bopp Keeler Brown of Connecticut.

Audrey was proud of and inspired by what she learned while digging deep into both sides of her family tree. Her maternal grandfather, turn-of-the-century song and dance man John Henry Tiernan, was the son of ancestors who had arrived in the USA on a so called “coffin ship” from County West Meathe, Ireland in the 1800s. (CLICK HERE to read “John Henry Tiernan performed in minstrels.”)

Her German-born paternal grandfather, Charles Bopp, meanwhile, operated a popular bakery in Albany for decades. But it was the heroic measures paternal grandmother, Caroline Dickerman Bopp, would take to ensure Audrey’s father Valentine not only survived but thrived after making his earthly debut weighing just 15 ounces in 1886 that motivated Audrey to become a devoted supporter of Birthright. (CLICK HERE to read “The true story of a mother’s love for her Valentine.”)

Only after becoming legally blind and battling Parkinson’s disease in her nineties did Audrey enlist the aid of daughters Ann and Mary in assisting with the preservation of ancestral records and the documenting of oral family histories. (The sisters have vowed to keep promises they made to their mom to publish a keepsake book honoring their ancestry.)

Audrey was predeceased by her parents and her siblings, Adelaide, Alice, Caroline, John, Ruth Irene, Leonard and Kenneth as well as by her beloved husband Donald, granddaughter Jennifer Marie Danison and son-in-law Rodger Reese. She is survived by her children, Charlene Reese, Timothy Hauprich, Pamela Irish, Ann Hauprich (Cole Broderick), Francis Hauprich, William Hauprich (all of Ballston Spa), Stephen Hauprich (Nancy) of Cicero, NY, Christopher Hauprich (Joanne) of Ballston Spa, Andrew Hauprich (Sharona) of Schenectady and Mary Reilly (Dave) of New Hampshire. The family tree extends to include 28 grandchildren and soon-to-be 30 great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. Audrey is additionally survived by her brother Paul Bopp (Agnes) and a sister in law, Beatrice (Ken) Bopp. Over the years, Audrey was also a beloved honorary “second mother” to Marcio de Melo of Brazil, Dave Sherwood of Ballston Spa and the now late Rev. Anthony Maione.

Heartfelt thanks to Team Audrey Caregiving Team Leaders Pamela Hauprich Irish, Francis Hauprich and Timothy Hauprich as well as Diane Hrebinczac, Joanne Hauprich, Mary Hauprich Reilly, Mariola Klawender for their devoted daytime caregiving assistance and to caring overnight aides Nora Bennett and Lynn Bouteiller as well as to Eucharistic Minister Caterina Lucke and Mary Beth Waterstram, Sister Nancy Schmidt of the Sisters of St. Joseph, the Rev. Francis Vivacqua and Deacon Ron Hogan of St. Mary’s Church for their spiritual support and to Joyce Crawford, RN and others for their Community Hospice services. Special thanks to Patricia Burnham for her “miracles of loaves and bakery wishes” and to Jody Wheeler who earned the affectionate nickname “Muffin Lady” for the delicious, nutritious treats she often delivered to Team Audrey caregivers.

A mass celebrating Audrey’s life will be held at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Ballston Spa at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, December 7. Remembrances may be electronically submitted to Armer Funeral Home in Ballston Spa, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to St. Mary’s Church, 185 Milton Avenue, Ballston Spa, NY 12020 and/or Community Hospice, 179 Lawrence St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866.

~ TWO LIVES, ONE LOVE AND AN AMAZING LEGACY ~

~ VIDEOS ~

~ CELEBRATION OF LIFE ~

Audrey’s husband Donald entered his heavenly home the previous year on August 24, 2021. Donald was also 97 years old at the time of his passing. (CLICK HERE to read the obituary of Donald G. Hauprich.) In June following Audrey’s passing, the family gathered at the Knights of Columbus hall in in Saratoga Springs to celebrate the lives, love and amazing legacy of this beautiful couple.