Services will be under the direction of Watts Funeral Home, Madill, Oklahoma. Interment will be in Oakland Cemetery, Oakland, Oklahoma. Music by Dick Jennings, Patty Tickel and Elizabeth Scott. Steven and Wanda Littrell, Larry Bauman will officiate the service. The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at First United Methodist Church in Madill, Oklahoma. Visitation will be held Tuesday, Jat Watts Funeral Home, Madill, Oklahoma from 10:00 a.m. He is survived by his wife of 40 years, Sue Jennings son, Wade and her husband, Bobby of Oklahoma City son, JT and his fiancée, Jenny of Norman grandchildren, Jack, Henry and Melody faithful companion, Reese sisters Mary Beth Scott, Jane Papke and Nancy Kerr several nieces and nephews and countless close friends and colleagues. His generosity and support were unmatched as he gave without question to serve God and others. He loved to cook and entertain his friends and family whenever he had the chance. Gardening and taking care of his plants gave him a lot of joy. He loved his painting class every Wednesday and took Jack and Henry to the Art Club to do arts and crafts. Herschel served on the Board of Governors of the American Land Title Association from 2009 to 2013. In 2008, he was appointed by then-Governor Brad Henry to the new Oklahoma Board of Abstractors, on which he served for eight years.
He was president of OLTA in 1992 and a member of several committees in Oklahoma and nationally. Herschel has spent countless hours serving the title industry. He never wavered in his duty to this service.
His parents instilled in him an understanding of service to his family, community, church and country. He served as President of the Fiji Parents Club at OU while JT was in school. He was in the stands for every OSU home game when Wade was drum major, and has continued his support of the Cowboys every year since. Pops never missed his sons’ sporting events or band performances. His activities brought him immense joy and energy. He has been active with the Madill First United Methodist Church, Fran Drummond Madill Community Day Care Center, Madill Rotary Club, Madill Art Club, Bread of Life, Santa’s Elves, Oklahoma Land Title Association, American Land Title Association, Phi Gamma Delta, OSU Alumni Band and the Marshall County Chamber of Commerce. Pops has dedicated his life to serving his family and his community. In 2020, he was thrilled to celebrate and honor his family’s legacy of being a family business for 100 years. Herschel worked at the Marshall County Abstract Company and Marshall County would not be the same without his dedication to business and community, and his knowledge of the county was unmatched. Wade Jennings Beard was born in 1983 and John Thomas Beard followed in 1986. He married Sue Jennings of Sulfur on Jat McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman. Herschel completed his Masters in Communications from OSU and returned to Madill to work with his father in the family title company in 1975. He was a member of the Cowboy Marching Band and Phi Gamma Delta, where he made many lifelong friends. Herschel graduated from Madill High School in 1968 and moved to Stillwater to study at Oklahoma State University. He was born to the late Norvell Ayres Beard and Mary Margaret Beard on Augin Madill, Oklahoma. John Herschel Beard, 71, passed away peacefully in his garden on Saturday June 18, 2022.