William D. Beard

William D. Beard, 86, of Abilene, entered into the hands of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, on August 3rd. He was born in Mansfield, Texas, on November 23, 1924. Services will be held at 2:00 pm on Saturday, August 6th, at Zion Lutheran Church in Abilene at 2801 Antilley Road, under the direction of The Hamil Family Funeral Home with Pastor Clyde Kieschnick officiating. Entombment will follow in Elmwood Memorial Park Mausoleum. Family members will accept friends on Friday evening between 6:30 and 8:30 pm at The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road. A longtime member of Zion Lutheran Church, he loved his family and many friends and took great pleasure in their company. He enjoyed traveling, playing dominoes, helping build the new church facility on Antilley Road and "piddling around", working, and fishing at his ranch in Buffalo Gap. William served his country in Alaska as a member of the United States Army and United States Air Force during World War II. During leave, he traveled to Canada where he met the love of his life and future wife, Ella. After the war, he became a meat grader with the United States Department of Agriculture and was assigned to the Swift and Armor plants in the Ft. Worth stock yards. He worked there for 20 years until both facilities were closed. He was then transferred to plants in Abilene and Sweetwater where he served for 18 years until his retirement in 1989. Known to his family and friends as Daddy, Pop, Bill, Dee, W.D. and Sweet William, he leaves behind countless family members and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents, Will and Stacey Beard; a brother, Curtis; and two sisters, Cleo Sweeden and Faye Saylor. He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Ella; a son and daughter-in-law, Larry and Elena Beard of Fredericksburg, VA; two daughters and sons-in-law, Terry and John Webb of Granbury and Danny and Linda Stribling of College Station; three brothers and sisters-in-law, John and Mackey Beard, Bob and Pat Beard, and Don and Bettye Beard; a sister, Geneva Hammon; seven grandchildren and eleven great grandchildren. Pallbearers will be Roland Ziehr, Vernon Youngquist, Wayne Lanham, John Glenewinkel, Clarence Siewert, Ricky Law, and Alvin Siewert. Larry Letz will be a honorary pallbearer. The family would like to recognize with special thanks the nurses and doctors of both Hendrick Hospice Care and Coronado Nursing Center for their kindness and care. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Zion Lutheran Church Capital Fund, All God's Children Daycare at the church, or a charity of your choice.