Mr. James Leonard Beard, age 74 of Benton, KY passed away Saturday, March 5, 2016, at the Ray and Kay Eckstein Hospice Care Center in Paducah, KY.
Born Sunday, August 17, 1941 in Calvert City, KY, he was the son of the late Rudy Houser Beard and the late Catherine Pauline (Davis) Beard.
He attended North Marshall High School and graduated from Freed Hardeman University in 1967, and Grand Canyon University in 1977. He also attended Harding Graduate School of Religion in Memphis, TN.
James enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1958 serving as a Rifle and Pistol Instructor, and was Honorably discharged in 1962, he served in the U.S. Marine reserves from 1962 until 1964, and again from 1972 to 1974 in Phoenix, AZ and
Kaneohe, Hawaii.
He was a member of the 32nd Street church of Christ in Paducah, KY. He has preached in several states in the U.S. and served as a missionary in the People’s Republic of China for four years. Also helped other missionaries in South Africa, Mozambique, Malaysia, and the Phillippines.
He is survived by his wife, Ona Faye (Phillips) Beard of Benton, KY, son, James Brian Beard of Benton, KY, daughters, Tamara Morgan of Ashmore, IL, Lynne Bartels of Alton, IL, and Beverly Drewry of White House, TN, six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Two sisters, Barbara Ann Vasseur of Calvert City, KY and Carolyn Loudean Kirk of Pulaski, TN.
He was preceded in death by his parents, one brother, Kenneth Ruddell Beard.
Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 3:30 p.m. in the chapel of the Collier Funeral Home in Benton, KY. Ron Griffin will officiate. Interment will follow the service in the Calvert City Cemetery, Calvert City, KY.
Friends may visit with the family after 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 8, 2016 until the funeral hour at 3:30 p.m. at the Collier Funeral Home, 211 West 5th St., Benton, KY.