Barbara Ann Beard, 78, of Cecilia, passed away Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, at Hardin Memorial Hospital. A native of Scranton, S.C., she was a member of Franklin Crossroads Baptist Church. She was preceded in death by a son, Ronald Beard; parents, A.J. Pate Sr. and Mamie Singletary Pate; and 14 brothers and sisters. Survivors include her husband of 61 years, Fletcher Beard; three children, Fletcher Allen (Pam) Beard, Jerry Wayne (Dolores) Beard, and Patricia Wright and her long-time companion, Rick Willis; a foster son, Robert (Nancy) Humphrey; daughter-in-law, Tammy Beard; a brother, David (Ruth) Pate; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. The funeral is at 11 a.m. Friday in the chapel of Dixon-Atwood & Trowbridge Funeral Home. Burial follows in Elizabethtown Memorial Gardens. Visitation is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home. Dixon-Atwood & Trowbridge Funeral Home in Elizabethtown is in charge of arrangements.   Published in The News-Enterprise on December 24, 2012