Lawrence Myers Beard, 76
Lawrence Myers Beard, 76, of Chambersburg, PA and formerly of Leesburg, VA, passed away on Wednesday, March 3, 2021 at his home. Born April 8, 1944 in Appomattox, VA, he was the son of the late Henry Myers Beard and Virginia Chick Beard.
Lawrence earned a bachelor's degree from Lynchburg College then started his career as a teacher in 1967. He taught US History for Loudoun County High School until his retirement in 1989. He also worked as an announcer for American Saddlebred and Tennessee Walking Horse shows from the time he was in high school until he moved with his wife to Chambersburg in 2004. Lawrence loved horses and horse shows and enjoyed watching sports and collecting baseball cards.
He is survived by his wife Barbara Kann Beard whom he married on December 24, 1986; and his cousins, Patricia Harden, Mary "Kat" Harden, Wanda Mann and Thomas Mann, all of Appomattox, VA.
A graveside service was held on Monday, March 8, 2021 in Norland Cemetery, Chambersburg, PA.
The following was read when Lawrence was inducted into the ASHAV Hall of Fame in 2018
This year’s inductee to the ASHAV Hall of Fame attended his first horse show as a teen in his hometown of Appomattox, Virginia. He was impressed by the winner of the 5-gaited stake, Ebony King, owned and shown by Carolyn Stonnell Baber. He attended shows in Virginia and North Carolina with his father, who shared his interest in Saddlebreds. His father began to show pleasure horses. In his senior year in high school, our inductee was the announcer for his first time at the Appomattox Horse Show.
Following graduation from college he began teaching High School History in Leesburg, Virginia. In his spare time he eagerly returned to announcing horse shows, working with ASHAV Hall of Famer, Paul Shelton, in Virginia and North Carolina. Over the years our inductee announced shows in 12 states, covering the Northeast, Midwest and South, from Massachusetts to Wisconsin and Louisiana. He added judging to his resume, officiating at shows in New York, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Tennessee and the Virginias.
In 1987 our inductee announced the ASHAV Horse Show for his first time. In its early years the Show was in Chatham, Virginia. When the show moved to the new Virginia Horse Center in Lexington, Virginia, he was the announcer until his retirement in 2004. When announcing at other shows, our inductee never missed an opportunity to promote the ASHAV Horse Show.
These days our inductee and his wife Barbara are “professional spectators”, attending some horse shows and enjoying others on Richfield Video webcasts. They read the breed publications to keep up with the American Saddlebred world.
For his lifelong service to the American Saddlebred breed as show announcer, judge, promoter and professional level spectator, ASHAV is proud to induct Lawrence Beard into the ASHAV Hall of Fame.