Thad Houston Beard

Funeral services for Thad Houston Beard, 88, of Sycamore will be held Friday April 12, 2013 at 2:00 P.M. at Bethel Baptist Church with interment in the church cemetery. Mr. Beard died Tuesday at his residence following a lengthy illness.

Mr. Beard was born in Sycamore and was the son of the late Joseph Hugh and Jewell Smith Beard. He was a retired landscaper for Ramada Inns of Brunswick and was formally in the grocery wholesale & retail business. He served in the U.S. Army during WW II where he participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the liberation of concentration camps. He was a member of the Bethel Baptist Church. He was preceded in death by his four brothers, Hugh Beard, Carl Beard, Vivian Beard and Sydney Beard and his sister, Norma Jenkins. He was also preceded in death by his son Allen Beard and granddaughter Sarah Beard.

Mr. Beard and his wife, the former Margaret Perry, were married for 63 years. They lived in Brunswick, Georgia for 38 years and it was there they raised their three sons, Allen Beard, Barry Beard, and Perry Beard. After retiring in 1988, Houston spent many hours in his garden growing beautiful flowers and an abundance of vegetables.

Mr. Beard is survived by his wife Margaret Perry Beard and two sons, Barry ( Pam) Beard Snellville, GA and Perry (Janet) Beard of Alpharetta, GA; daughter in law Cathy Beard Hill, Lakeland, FL; one sister Victoria Courtoy, Tifton, Ga and seven grand children and two great grandchildren.

The family will receive friends Thursday from 6:00-8:00 P.M. at Perry Funeral Chapel in Ashburn.