~ IN MEMORY ~
USAF veteran, PAA/DL
Capt. Harry Robert Beard
July 21, 1933 ~ March 14, 2020
As noted in the September issue of ALPA's The Air Line Pilot
magazine IN MEMORIAM column ….the passing of Ransome Airlines/Pan American/Delta
pilot Captain Harry Robert Beard, age 86. Captain Beard joined Pan
American 05-05-1987 and retired with Delta Air Lines in 1993 as noted in his
obituary. Captain Beard is survived by his wife Jane, his
children/grandchildren/great grandchildren, plus many more close family
members.
To view the obituary online please visit the funeral home
website at
Scanlin Funeral Home of Chalfont PA.
Thank you,
~ Carol for the PCN
Obituary: Harry
Robert Beard, 86, formerly of Doylestown, was cleared to land in Heaven on
Saturday, March 14, 2020. Flying was his passion, duty, career, and his way of
inviting the timid and the brave to experience life at the controls.
Growing up on the family airport in Chambersburg, he learned
to fly while still in school, and after graduation entered the Air Force,
serving stateside, in Okinawa and in Vietnam. After 20 years’ service, he
retired from “flying a desk” at the Pentagon, moved his family to Doylestown,
and joined Ransome Airlines in 1973, getting back into the air. Pan Am
followed, with international destinations.
Harry retired from Delta in 1993 but over the years owned
several small aircraft that he used to introduce friends and family to his love
of flying. After retirement, he converted his 1791 stone farmhouse into the
Peace Valley Bed & Breakfast, wisely outsourcing the baked goods so he
could focus on making his guests feel at home. In his later years, he found
enjoyment piloting and towing gliders at Van Sant Airport and the Philadelphia
Glider Council.
Harry, who went by “Jim” for much of his life, was always
concerned with the well-being of others, serving as deacon and elder at Lenape
Valley Church, as a mentor in Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Bucks County, as a
volunteer at Life Abundant Inc. and as host to immigrant Laotian families
fleeing the violence of their homeland. He epitomized the Greatest Generation —
a man of many accomplishments well hidden beneath a humble, thoughtful persona.
Born July 21, 1933, in Waynesboro, Pa. to Robert Harry and
Catherine (Hawbecker) Beard, he graduated from Chambersburg High School and the
University of Nebraska Omaha. While in the Air Force, he married Joan
(Duncklee) Beard in Scranton, Pa., in 1957. His son Mark was born in 1958 and
son Scott in 1961. In 1966, the family moved to Okinawa and remained there
while he served in Vietnam. In 1971, the family returned to Alexandria, Va.,
moving to Doylestown in 1973.
In 1992, Harry married Jane Foster (Donovan) Beard, and they
moved to Souderton in 2010.
In addition to his wife, Harry is survived by sons Mark
(Allison) Beard of Doylestown and Scott (JoAnn) Beard of Lake Ariel, PA.; Kevin
(Phyllis) Foster of Claymont, DE; Sean (Robin) Foster of Highland, MD; Megan
(Joseph) McClaskey of Quakertown, PA; Cullen (Karin) Foster of Mt. Wolf, PA;
his loving grandchildren and great-grandchildren; his twin brothers, Raymond
(Sue) Beard and Richard Beard, both of Fort Myers, Fla.; and sister, Patricia
(Gene) Hughes of Manchester, Pa. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in
death by two sisters, Mary Cook and Betty Kennedy.
A Celebration of Life service will be held at a later date.
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