Airman Joshua Beard Obituary

Airman Joshua C. Beard, 19, of Goodfellow Air Force  Base near San Angelo, TX will have a visitation from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, August 22, 2019 at West/Hurtt Funeral Home, 217 S. Hampton Rd., DeSoto, TX 75115 with funeral services beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.

Interment with Air Force honors will be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, August 23, 2019 at Dallas/Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, TX.

Amn Joshua Beard was born in Kerrville, Texas. As a military dependent, he PCS’d to Columbus AFB, Barksdale AFB, Nellis AFB, the Pentagon, Moody AFB, Shaw AFB, JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Barksdale AFB for a second time and finally JB San Antonio-Lackland/Kelly. He graduated from Airline HS in Bossier City, LA in 2018 before moving to San Antonio and enlisting into the USAF. Growing up, he joined the Boy Scouts in Valdosta, GA. During high school, he was in Junior ROTC and participated in the Combined Leadership Course and Louisiana Boys State. He ran Varsity Track and Varsity Cross Country. For his senior project, he earned his Open-Water SCUBA Diver Certification by completing his final check dive in Cozumel, Mexico. In his spare time, he published a YouTube channel and posted 100s of VLOGs on crazy challenges and documented numerous family vacations to places such as Niagara Falls, Salem, MA, New Brunswick, Canada and numerous national historic sites. He earned “Gold Status” on Disney Cruise Line while traveling to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Castaway Cay. He was raised with many pets, including: cats, dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs, and sugar gliders. He was most known by his family as “The Cat Whisperer”. Joshua loved spicy foods, basketball & football, gaming and being outside. He collected watches, hats, and tons of shoes.

Joshua is survived by his Father, Maj (ret) Jimacie Beard, Jr.; step mother, Col (Dr.) Sheryl Kane; brothers, Caleb and Ronan Beard; honorary uncle/aunt Richard & LaQuitta Keys; adopted mother, Sheryl Clark; biologic mother, Andrea Silva; biologic brother, Jonathan Garcia; grandparents Jimacie & Cindy Beard, Lewis & Lois Godfrey, Jon & Chris Hicks; uncles/aunts Jeremie Beard, Jamie & Deanna Barnhart, Adrian Clark; and cousins Tiffany, Jennifer, Mason, Hannah, and Jordan.

Memorials are encouraged to: Air Force Aid Society  or Best Friends Animal Society (bestfriends.org).