LeBaron "Lee" Beard

LeBaron "Lee" BEARD Lee Beard, principal of Page & Beard Architects at 910 Market Street in Kirkland passed away on December 12, 2011 at Evergreen Hospice after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Lee is survived by his beloved wife of nearly 30 years, Louise, and his band of "brothers," Tom Lambright and wife, Maria, Galen Page and wife, Kari, and Richard Pierce and wife, Sheron. Born to a military family in Atwater, California on March 19, 1957, Lee spent his elementary years in Vicenza, Italy, where he learned to speak Italian from his little soccer buddies on the streets, ski in the Alps, and to love the architecture of Palladio. Back in the U.S., his family was posted to Massachusetts and then California where he completed high school in Sacramento. Lee graduated from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo with degrees in architecture and engineering. Lee spent his last year of study in Copenhagen, Denmark, which influenced his sense of design throughout his career. According to Lee, however, his most important accomplishment in San Luis Obispo was meeting, courting, and subsequently marrying the love of his life, Louise. After a three-month honeymoon in Europe, in the fall of 1982, the Beards made their home together on Capitol Hill in Seattle, the neighborhood they called home for nearly 30 years. In 1987, Lee and Galen met and became instantaneous best friends. In 1990, the two started their own firm, Page & Beard Architects. More like brothers than partners, their firm's success is due to their mutual commitment to and respect for one another's unique talents. Their partnership inspired confidence and admiration from both colleagues and clients. Throughout his lifetime, Lee did art, but found his muse in Louise's endeavor to learn to play the violin in her late 40s. In the last few years of his life, Lee created beautiful paintings in his art studios that have been displayed in museums, galleries, homes, and commercial establishments throughout the Northwest. A naturally gifted athlete, Lee remained fit and playful throughout his life with activities and adventures he loved to share with Louise-running, inline skating, body boarding, all types of Nordic skiing, hiking, and taking as many vacation trips as their work schedules allowed. Just before his unexpected and devastating diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in May 2011, Lee and Louise purchased and moved into their dream home on Mercer Island. Lee adored the neighborhood, especially the nearby biking trails, parks, and easy access to the Lake Washington shoreline. A curious man with a mind full of ideas, a constant smile that made the recipient feel like the only person in the room, and an engaged, gracious manner that brought out the best in everyone he met, he was a most beloved husband, a cherished friend, a graceful athlete, a highly respected business leader, a talented artist, and as Louise's late father said of Lee after his first meeting with him, "Now, there is one of the last few true gentlemen." A celebration of Lee's life and display of his art will be held at Mercer Island Community Center on Sunday, January 22 from 1:00-4:00 p.m. All who were touched in some way by Lee are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Pancreatic Cancer Action Network or Point Lobos Foundation.