Karen Dee Beard

Karen Denton “Katy” Beard went home to her Savior, Jesus Christ, on the morning of May 24, 2022.

  Karen was born July 27, 1944, and was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, graduating from Nathan Hale High School in 1962. She always knew she wanted to be a nurse. As a child she took all her dolls apart to “see how they worked”. She won several state and national 4-H awards and scholarships related to health care while in high school. She received her B.S.N. from the University of Oklahoma School of Nursing in 1966 and served as the Director of Nursing at Stillwater Medical Center until 1972, when she became a mom. As a farmer’s wife, she spent numerous anniversaries, celebrating with a meal on the tailgate of a pickup, parked in a wheat field. She was a 4-H leader in Stillwater and served as a judge at the 4-H Oklahoma State, “Make it With Wool” Competition.

   She was also the PTA President for Sangre Ridge Elementary School in Stillwater and was involved in the athletic and band booster clubs at Wylie High School, after the Beards moved to Abilene in 1984, where she reentered the nursing service. By the end of her career, she had been a floor nurse, ER nurse, charge nurse, surgical nurse, director of nursing, director of case management and a specialist in critical care, intensive care, and cardiac care.  

   She was a loving wife to her husband of 55 years. She is survived by her husband David Beard, son Lynn Beard and wife Melinda, son Brandon Beard and wife Alicia, daughter Cathy Beard, and five grandchildren. She was great listener, and she made you feel like whatever you were saying was the most important thing in the world. Talking to her was easy, and she always made you feel special.    

   A private family service is planned in the coming weeks. Donations in lieu of flowers may be sent to the Wounded Warrior Project or the St. Jude’s Children’s Medical Center, as both causes were dear to her heart.

   The Beard Family offers our heartfelt gratitude for those who have supported us over the past two years. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Anton Melnyk, Pam Keith, the nurses and doctors at Hendrick Medical Center, and Kinder Hearts Home Health and Hospice Care, all of whom took excellent care of our beloved wife, mom, and grandmother.

   Anyone wishing to send a message or memory to the family may mail letters or cards to:   The Beard Family, P.O. Box 131, Abilene, Texas, 79604

  Memories may be shared, and condolences submitted at: www.HamilFamilyFuneralHome.com