Beaureguard Andrew "Andrew ,Beau" Hardeman Jr.

Beaureguard Andrew Hardeman, Jr., (Beau), the third child and only son of the late Beaureguard Andrew Hardeman, Sr. and Bettye Conyers Hardeman. was born in Macon, Georgia on November 17, 1944. He departed this life on Friday, August 7, 2015, his mother's 98th birthday. His family lived in Macon, Atlanta and Columbus, Georgia before settling in Daytona Beach, Florida in 1952. There his father worked as the manager of the Afro American Life Insurance Company before moving on to Atlanta Life Insurance Company. His mother worked as a nursing assistant at Halifax Hospital (now Halifax Health Medical Center). Beau received his early education at St. Peter Claver Catholic School in Macon. E.R. Carter Elementary in Atlanta, 5th Avenue School in Columbus and Campbell and Bonner Elementary schools in Daytona Beach. He graduated with honors from Campbell Street High School (CHS) in 1962. At Campbell, he was the statistion of the football team, sang in the chorus and was active in many other school activities. During his junior & senior years, he was selected as one of 11 students to participate in an accelerated program at the Volusia County Community College. Beau didn't wait until high school to make his college decision. He started talking about attending Morehouse in the seventh grade and never wavered from his determination to do so. In September of 1962, he achieved his dream of attending the college of his choice. His life long love of chess began at Morehouse where he was introduced to the game by Eric Mitchell at the Canterbury House near the campus. After attending Morehouse for 3 years, Beau enlisted in the United States Air Force where he spent 4 years. During his years in the Air Force, he represented them at many chess tournaments. Beau re-turned to Morehouse and majored in Mathematics with a minor in Chemistry. He graduated in 1971. His love for Morehouse continued throughout his life. He had a special affinity for Dr. Benjamin E. Mays, the long time president of Morehouse, and even discovered that his family was distantly related to Mrs. Sadie Mays, the wife of Dr. Mays. Beau began working for Stanford Research Institute International (SRI) in Palo Alto, California at the beginning of the computer era, thus his expertise in all things computer began to develop and shape his professional life. While at SRI, he worked with Douglas Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse, When he left California, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia which became his permanent home. He returned to Morehouse where he was instrumental in the development and teaching of computer science courses. In addition, he had a distinguished career as a software specialist for Bellsouth, Electronic Data Systems (EDS) and AT&T. He retired from AT&T at the end of January 2014. Beau loved chess and dedicated a significant number of years to playing and teaching chess to young and old alike. He achieved Grand Master status, and had a very high rating, although he would never disclose his ranking. He knew several world champions and most authors of professional writings on chess. He enjoyed an extensive collection of books about chess and chess sets. He was the first chess coach at the Paideia School in Atlanta and went on to teach hundreds of children how to play chess. To many, he became their mentor. During his illness, many of his former students and their parents came to visit him in the hospital and expressed their admiration for him and how he used chess to explain life long lessons to them. In addition to private lessons, Beau tutored children in chess on Saturday mornings in a barbershop in Stone Mountain under the auspices of the "Unconditional Love for Children Foundation, Inc." He volunteered and coached a group of senior citizens at the Freeman C. Poole Senior Center in Cobb County twice a week for six months, driving approximately 25 miles one way, to spread the gospel of chess. The Beau Hardeman Annual Invitational Chess Tournament (grades k-12) began in 1995. The 20th tournament was held in May of this past year. Over the years, hundreds of students had the opportunity to participate in "Mr. Beau's" tournament. In addition to his career and his love of chess, Beau was a poet and writer. He published two poetry books during his militant social activist days in the 1970's in California. The poetry books, "Revolution Is" and the "Metamorphosis of Super Nigger" were published under the pseudonym, B Rap. In the 80's, he mellowed a bit and wrote the short story, "Caterpillar Ride" which chronicled his experiences growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida. He loved all kinds of music and had an extensive CD collection which he shared with his sister, Betsey and his friends. For years, he was a long distance cyclist stopping only upon his doctor's advice when he was diagnosed with Multiple myeloma almost 20 years ago. Beau fought his last battle valiantly and in so doing, achieved the respect and admiration of all who cared for him. He will be missed. Those who will cherish his memory are his beloved mother, Bettye C. Hardeman, his devoted sister, Betsey Hardeman, (both of South Daytona, FL) his aunt, Daisy Hardeman, (Atlanta) his cousins, Louise Bailey (Oakland, California) Michael Hardeman (Korea) and a host of cousins and dear friends. Funeral services and interment will be held in Atlanta, Georgia.