Stephen Guy Beardsley

Stephen Guy Beardsley Jr., Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army (Retired) "Guy"
Stephen Guy Beardsley Jr., age 91, of Shelton, Connecticut, passed on to be with the Lord early on November 2, 2021, at St. Vincent's Medical Center, Bridgeport. He was the devoted husband of 50 years to Patricia Ruth Burnett Beardsley "Pat" who predeceased him in 2006. Guy Beardsley was born in Griffin Hospital, Derby, on October 24, 1930, the son of Stephen Senior and Constance Beardsley. Guy earned his bachelor's degrees in history and French from Norwich University, Vermont, and entered the Army as an armor officer, serving in the Korean war as a tank platoon leader on the front lines. After the armistice he was assigned to Fort Hood, Texas, where he met Pat and got married in 1955. He became aviation-qualified, first in fixed wing aircraft, and later in helicopters, and then served two more combat tours in Vietnam. He and Pat raised three kids while traveling from post-to-post before retiring from active duty in 1980. Guy became qualified as a paramedic in Texas, but returned to Shelton when his father passed away in 1983.
Guy and Pat became passionate about organic farming which led to the establishment of Beardsley Organic Farms in 1991, later renamed Guy's Eco Garden. Guy helped found eight local farmers markets, most notably the Downtown Shelton Farmers' market. He revitalized and commanded the Veterans of Foreign Wars Huntington Post 10466. Together with Pat he was one of the original organic farm certifiers on the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) Connecticut Chapter Certification Committee. Since 2009, Guy has been a co-host on WPKN's twice-monthly "Organic Farm Stand" radio show (89.5 FM, Bridgeport). Passionate for God, Guy served in multiple volunteer roles, including worship leader at his beloved St. Paul's Episcopal Church (Huntington).
He is survived by his daughter, Patricia Janelle Beardsley and her husband, Edward Wittkofski, of Shelton; his son, Col. (Ret) Stephen G Beardsley III, and his wife, Judith, of Olney, Maryland.; and his son, Eric Burnett Beardsley of Austin, Texas. He is also survived by his brother, David, of Shelton; five loving grandchildren, Jan Elizabeth Peer (Beardsley), Caitlin Beardsley Eising, Charlotte Marie Koga (Wittkofski), Stephen Joshua Beardsley, and Zachary James Beardsley; nine great grandchildren, along with numerous nieces and nephews.
Viewing will be Friday, Nov 5th, from 4-7 PM at Riverview Funeral Home. The funeral with military honors will be held at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Shelton (Huntington) at 1:30 PM on Saturday, Nov 6th. An outdoor reception on the Huntington Green will follow the service. The Riverview Funeral Home, 390 River Road, Shelton, has been entrusted with funeral arrangements. At the request of the family, memorial contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to the Northeast Organic Farm Association of Connecticut [ctnofa.org], tel. 203-408-6819 -or- WPKN, Bridgeport [wpkn.org], tel. 203-331-9756.
The family extends a warm thanks to all in our community and in the military who have shared in Guy's amazing life. As always, to God be the Glory.