Harriet Beard Passes Away

      Harriet Wilson Beard, beloved family matriarch of Fairview Farm of Davidsonville, and the widow of Dr. J Howard Beard, passed away peacefully at her home on Saturday, the first of April 2017. She was 101.
      She was born March 20, 1916 to the late Dr. Harry Ross and Keturah Wilson in Harris, Kansas. Harriet attended Kansas State Teachers College and met her husband, while working at College Camp in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. They were married in Baltimore on June 2, 1941, while he was a student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. After World War II, they moved into their home on the family farm in Davidsonville, which at that time had no electricity or plumbing. They raised five children together and worked the farm. In addition to raising her family, she pursued many talents and interests. She enjoyed cooking, gardening, rug hooking, needlework, piano, watercolor painting, and was an avid reader. She was an early member of Colonial Players, where she had the starring role in "Dear Ruth". Harriet was an active member of both Davidsonville and Calvary United Methodist Churches, president of the College Women's Club and the Inner Wheel of the Rotary Club of Annapolis, a volunteer for the Hospital Auxiliary, and was one of the founding volunteers for the preservation of London Town Publik House. She was a devoted wife and mother, and was delighted to spend her later years dedicated to her grandchildren and great grandchildren.
      In addition to her husband Dr. J. Howard Beard, former Anne Arundel County Health Officer, she was proceeded in death by two brothers, Bill and Charles Wilson, and her sister, Molly Sund, of Kansas. She is survived by her five children and their spouses: Katherine Gabler (Rob), J. Howard Beard III (Gaylene), Stephen (Kathy), Christopher (Jennifer), and Barbara Cohen (John), as well as 13 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.
      Family will receive visitors Wednesday, April 19, 2017, from 5:00 to 6:00 PM at Davidsonville United Methodist Church, 819 W. Central Ave., Davidsonville, MD 21035 followed by a memorial service at 6:00 PM. There will be a private family burial. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in memory of Harriet Beard to the J. Howard Beard Fellowship at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. To make a contribution on-line, go to http://www.jhsph.edu/giving/how-to-give . Click on "give now", then "other" to specify the J. Howard Beard Fellowship.