- Date Of Birth: August 4, 1954
- Date Of Death: December 19, 2019
- State: Illinois
Early in the morning of Thursday, December 19, 2019, Jim Beard, 65, went to sleep at his home in Ogden, IL, and woke up in Glory with his Jesus. He escaped his earthly trials of congestive heart failure and Parkinson’s Disease and found freedom.
Jim was born August 4, 1954, in Jacksonville, the son of Robert Lee and Violet Davis Beard.
He is survived by one sister and two brothers, Linda (Gary) Stanberry of Champaign, Joel (Tabitha) Beard of Lincoln, and Noel (Kathleen) Beard of Jacksonville; one aunt, Sharon (Bill) Harrell; two uncles, Leonard (Claudia) Beard, and Russell (Mary Lynn) Beard; and many nieces and nephews are left to remember Uncle Jim as well as a gaggle of cousins.
Jim was a graduate of Jacksonville High School, class of 1974. He worked at Elm City Rehabilitation Center for many years starting in 1976. He was a long-time member of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville and was very active in Special Olympics. Mr. Beard even participated in basketball at the International Special Olympics in 1987 at South Bend, IN, representing the State of Illinois.
After Jim moved to the Ogden area, he continued to participate in Special Olympics and attended the day program at Developmental Services Center in Champaign. He attended the Ogden Nazarene Church and looked forward to the first Sunday of the month which was Potluck Sunday.
A special thanks to the Curtis House Group Home in Ogden for their love and care towards Jim his entire stay with them especially his last days.
