Diana Fredyricca Hayden

Diana Fredyricca (Dostie) Ociepka, Bedwell, Hayden, 98 years of Augusta, Maine passed away on Sunday March 13, 2022 at Glenridge Nursing Facility, in the Hospice Comfort Care Unit just 4 days shy of her 99th birthday. She always said she wanted to live to be 100. Well, she came very close! Diana was born on March 17, 1923, the oldest daughter of Pierre Joseph & Ernestine Marie (LaChance) Dostie. Siblings: Leonard Dostie, Normand Dostie, Lucille Bois, Patricia Cunningham & Maurice Dostie. Diana lived in Augusta with her husband, Stanley Ociepka, until Dick & Keith were in their teenage years. She was a hairdresser for 25 years and at different times owned several beauty shops in Augusta. After her divorce from Stanley she met Ralph Bedwell, a Kora Temple Shriner. After they married they moved to Vassalboro. Knowing he wasn’t going to live long he taught Diana how to run the Shrine Circus concession business of novelties, snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy and hotdogs. When he passed a year and a half later she continued running it solo for 8 years until she married Ralph’s best friend Robert (Bob) Hayden, who was also a Shriner. They continued running it together with the help of family and friends for a total of 18 years, with Dick being her right hand man inflating all the balloons, setting up equipment, including wiring. They traveled for a month from Augusta to Lewiston, Portland, Bangor and then Presque Isle, and a couple years to Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. She and Bob had a house built with a pool in Auburn where most of the grandchildren practically lived during the summers taking swim lessons in the pool, going to theater productions, day camp, shopping and going to the library. She always stressed how important an education was, she herself getting her GED later in life. In 2001, just a couple of weeks after the 911 plane crash, they moved to Florida permanently, where it was warmer. While in Florida they had many wonderful friends. They loved to entertain and socialize. While involved with the Shriner’s they traveled many places around the world. They also became quite involved with the sport of shuffleboard from 1991-2008. She started as a beginner medalist but was soon winning game after game working her way up to pro-level. Everyone wanted her on their team. She won the title of “Most Game Winner” in 1995 and was listed in the Hall of Fame in 2002. When she could no longer care for herself she moved back to Maine in 2019 to live with her son Keith and his wife Gail. Other hobbies include playing cards and knitting hats and mittens for her grandchildren and dishcloths for family and friends as well as reading; her favorite author was Danielle Steele. She enjoyed serving her family and helping others by giving monetary and food donations to her church and other organizations. Diana never forgot a birthday and her house was a continuing gathering place for all the family. She was predeceased by her parents, brothers Leonard Joseph Dostie and wife Rita (Beckim), Augusta, Normand Joseph Dosite who went MIA in WWII, Maurice Joseph Dostie and wife Elaine (Dougie), Augusta, brother-in-laws Joachim Bois, Brunswick, and Vernon Cunningham, Gardiner, step-sons/daughter Brian Bedwell, Tom Bedwell, Maurine (Bedwell), step-sons Doug Hayden, Auburn and Paul Rybeck, Auburn, nephew Maurice Dostie Jr, Augusta, her 1st husband Stanley Ociepka, Lowell, Mass., 2nd husband Ralph Bedwell, Augusta and 3rd husband Robert Hayden, Auburn. She is survived by her sisters Lucille Marie Bois, Brunswick and Patricia Marie Cunningham, Gardiner, sons Richard Ociepka and wife Norma (Bailey), Vassalboro and Keith Ociepka and wife Gail (Proulx), Hampden, Sister-in-law Lucille (Dostie) Moody, step-children-Sue (Bedwell) Adkins, West Virginia, Deborah (Hayden) Rybeck, Auburn, Suzanne (Jazynka) Hayden, Lewiston, David Hayden and wife Barbara (Hunt), Whitefield, 19 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren and 3 great great grandchildren, as well as many nieces and nephews. A mass will be held at Notre Dame du Perpetual Secours Catholic Church on 116 Silver Street in Waterville, Maine on March 22, 2022, 10:00 a.m. Cremation arrangements are through Maine Cremation Care, Gorham. A reception will follow the mass in the cultural hall of the church. The burial will be at the Wall Cemetery, Riverside Dr. Augusta, Maine at a later date. Memories and condolences may be shared through the Maine Cremation Care website.

Diana Fredyricca Hayden

March 17, 1923 - March 13, 2022