Owen Beard

Owen W. Beard, M.D. of Little Rock, passed away peacefully on May 9, 2018. He was born in Wattensaw, AR, in 1916 in a large farming family and grew up there during the Depression. The family ties were close, and the siblings worked to put each other through college.
He did his undergraduate studies at Oklahoma State University and graduated at the top of his medical school class from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). He married his wife, Dr. Alice Gamble Beard, during his residency years in Galveston, Texas. They moved to Little Rock in 1947 and both became professors at UAMS. In 1953 he joined the Air Force and served two years at Shepherd Air Force Base during the Korean conflict, earning a National Defense Service Medal and a Commendation Ribbon. Upon returning to Little Rock, he continued as a professor at UAMS and was also employed as a physician by the Veterans Administration. Dr. Beard was a prominent physician who mastered three different medical specialties during his career: internal medicine, cardiology, and geriatrics. In addition, he trained thousands of doctors at UAMS.
During Dr. Beard's long and active medical career, he earned many honors, including being governor of the Arkansas chapter of the American College of Cardiology from 1971-74 and president of the Arkansas Heart Association from 1972-74. He also served on the Board of Directors of the American Heart Association from 1975-76 and was vice president of the American Heart Association from 1975-76. He was the author of 30 scientific publications in various medical journals and textbooks. Dr. Beard was instrumental in creating the geriatric unit at the Little Rock VA Medical Center and served as the Chief of Geriatrics from 1974-83. At his retirement in 1983, he was awarded professor emeritus status from UAMS.
Owen was a faithful member of Calvary Baptist Church in Little Rock for over 60 years. He was a deacon and a Sunday School teacher for many of his years there. He also served on two medical mission tours with the S.S. Hope, the first peacetime hospital ship. One tour was in Sri Lanka and the other in Brazil.
Owen was a caring husband and father and was beloved by a host of his family and friends. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, gardening, growing roses, as well as listening to classical music and reading poetry. He captured over a century of memories in a wonderful autobiographical book entitled, Memories of a Pigeon Roost Boy.
Dr. Beard was preceded in death by Dr. Alice Beard, his wife of 42 years. He is survived by his three children and their spouses: Margaret Miller and husband Bill Miller, William Beard and wife Hollace Beard-Hunting, and Barbara Pierce and husband Dwight Pierce. He also has nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, as well as numerous nephews and nieces.
Services will be at Calvary Baptist Church, 5700 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, AR, on Saturday, May 19, 2018, with visitation at 12 noon and the funeral services at 1:00 pm, followed by burial at Hebron cemetery near Lonoke, AR. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one's preferred medical mission, homeless shelter, or foodbank

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Visitation

MAY 19. 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (CDT)

Calvary Baptist Church
5700 Cantrell
Little Rock, AR, 72207

Funeral Service

MAY 19. 1:00 PM (CDT)

Calvary Baptist Church
5700 Cantrell
Little Rock, AR, 72207

Burial

MAY 19 (CDT)

Hebron Cemetery
Lonoke, AR