Robert E. Beard

1945 - 2019

Beard, Robert E.
1945 - 2019
Robert E. Beard was born March 20, 1945, in Akron, Ohio, to Bob and Flo Beard from whom he inherited his love of geopolitical tales and America's history and his skill in telling stories, often seasoned with his signature sense of humor. Bob's life was a journey. After Buchtel H.S., Bob majored in political science at the University of Akron, but at the height of Vietnam in 1969, he joined the Army, and was sent to Germany as a medic right after a snap trip to Woodstock. His engineering unit went to Tunisia to build a bridge, Bob's basic Buchtel French building bridges of his own with locals. After discharge, he built geodesic domes in Maine, returned to Akron where he worked as a surgical orderly and finished his degree. By 1976 he had made his way to Aspen to begin his semi-glamorous career in ski resort property management and snow. In 1980 Bob put his poli-sci degree to work for Democrats. In 1980 he worked on Tom Sawyer's state rep campaign, and in 1982 he again worked on Tom's state rep campaign and Bob Nettle's; all were successful. In 1983, while working in state government and recruiting volunteers for Sawyer's mayoral campaign, Bob met Pam Grandon. Bob continued working on Democratic campaigns. In time Bob and Pam made their life together enjoying their many shared interests, family, and friends. They bought a house with a yard that Bob transformed into their home in a garden. They visited places that were special to them, including the western slope in Colorado. One place was very special; Bob, his sister Sue and their parents had vacationed in summers along the rocky shores of Cape Ann, Massachusetts. When Bob took Pam to Cape Ann, she saw why. Bob and Pam returned to Cape Ann year after year after year, but not this year. Bob died October 5, 2019, with his wife Pam by his side. In the end, Bob likely would not have said that his life was a journey. He'd have simply laughed and said, "It was a trip." Bob's sister Sue Hagloch and her husband Joe Hagloch live in Dover, Ohio. Pam lives in Columbus in the home in the garden that Bob made.