RICHELLE A. "SHELLY" BEARD

Richelle A. "Shelly" Beard, 68, of Piqua, passed away unexpectedly at 11:02 a.m. Sunday, February 22, 2026 at Upper Valley Medical Center. She was born May 19, 1957 in Piqua to the late Richard C. "Dick" and Shirley A. (Barhorst) Beard.

Shelly is survived by two siblings, Danielle (Michael) Mohrman of Houston, and Bruce (Tonya) Beard of Plain City; her nieces and nephews, Richie (Maggie) Beard, Tyler (Jennifer) Beard, Nicholas Beard, Taylor Beard, Zachary (Francie Mullenix) Beard, and Sydney (Justin) Gatley; also numerous other relatives and friends.

Shelly was a graduate of Miami East High School, Class of 1975, and went on to earn her Master's degree in Teaching. For over 30 years, Shelly was a Social Studies/History teacher for Juniors and Seniors in the Great Oaks School System near Cincinnati. She loved the teacher friends she worked with, and the challenge of working with Juniors and Seniors, and always welcomed a healthy debate. Shelly was a huge Dallas Cowboys fan, and also rooted for the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds. In her free time, she loved to go fishing and play pickleball with friends. She enjoyed going to Lake Loramie or up to Rice Lake in Canada to spend time with her family. She was an animal lover, especially her dog growing up, her cats, and she cared for two parakeets as well. Above all else, Shelly cherished her family and always enjoyed being together.

A service to honor Shelly's life will be held at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at the Jamieson & Yannucci Funeral Home with Rev. Dr. Keith Gebhart officiating. Burial will follow at Forest Hill Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., on Wednesday, also at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Miami County Animal Shelter. Guestbook condolences and expressions of sympathy, to be provided to the family, may be expressed through jamiesonandyannucci.com.