5/18/2023 0 Comments Lowndes funeral home columbus ms![]() Wayne helped design and build a pavilion at the ranch for picnics and meetings and helped with many other improvement projects during the time the Ranch was at capacity with children. He and Glenda spent hours with the residents of the Mississippi Sheriff’s Boys and Girls Ranch and considered the children extra family members. ![]() He volunteered and cooked for Camp Rising Sun yearly. This included cooking fish or barbeque for anywhere from 5 to 1500 people at a time, collecting antique John Deere Tractors and farm implements, collecting and showing classic cars, fishing, traveling, watching every John Wayne movie ever made, memorizing every Gunsmoke episode, and keeping the yard cut. In total, Wayne worked in Law Enforcement for 44 years.Īfter his 2 nd retirement, he began doing what he wanted to do when he wanted to do it. He was recognized by the State for implementing a plan to dispose of deer carcasses during hunting season using public disposal containers placed around the county. He served as a board member of the Mississippi Tennessee Peace Officer’s Association, before being selected as Vice President, and eventually President of the Association, and was featured on the cover of “The Lawman” magazine.Īchieving the rank of Master Sergeant as a Game Warden, Wayne spent the last few years of his career in undercover investigations for the Department.Īfter retiring from the state after 33 years, he went to work for the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office as Litter Control Officer. He was chosen as Outstanding District Officer of the Year by the State Game and Fish Commission. While serving the State as a Game Warden, he was Vice President of the Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Association for the Northern District twice. In his spare time, he built a practice shooting range and formed the Columbus Gun Club. He was a firearms instructor for the Department of Wildlife of the State of Mississippi for many years. He made many lifelong friends across the country by participating in these tournaments, ranked by the NRA as a High Master Combat Shooter. He and some fellow game wardens formed a competition shooting team that won many National Championship tournaments. ![]() Naturally, he was led to a career that he is most remembered by: Game Warden. They would have celebrated their 59 th wedding anniversary a week after his death.Įarly in life, Wayne discovered a love for animals of all kinds and the outdoors. ![]() Wayne graduated from Lee High School and married his high school sweetheart, Glenda Easley, on September 1, 1962. Shortly after he was born, the family moved to Columbus and their descendants still live on the land they settled. Wayne, as everyone knew him, was born September 1, 1941, in Macon Mississippi, to Samuel Arnett (S.A.) and Frances Wilkes Beard, who preceded him in death. Family request masks be worn at all services and everyone dress casual. Interment will be at Friendship Cemetery, Columbus, MS with the honor guard from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. A visitation will be one hour prior to the service. Byron Benson, a lifelong friend, officiating. A service celebrating his life will be Thursday, September 9, 2021, at 11:00 AM in the Lowndes Funeral Home chapel with Rev. Visitation will be held Wednesday, September 8, 2021, 6:00 – 8:00 PM at Lowndes Funeral Home, Columbus, MS with Lowndes County Sheriff’s Honor Guard. John Wayne Beard, 79, of Columbus, passed away August 25, 2021, in Casper, Wyoming, due to COVID pneumonia, with his wife and daughter at his side.
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