Dr. Gary Beard

I encountered Gary Beard one day while at the University Printing Service on Shug Jordan Parkway. I was overseeing layout of that week’s AU Report, and Gary was there ostensibly to get a Veterinary College print job done, but as I would learn, Gary was really there to spread his unique combination of cheer and chaos. It was a quality I would come to understand from a character I would come to love.

That was 1993.

The University doesn’t operate a printing service anymore. And time has taken Gary Beard from us.

But I will always be grateful I met him that day. A year or so later, he hired me to produce his CVM Quarterly magazine. And when I changed jobs to go into development, he introduced me to numerous alumni and friends of the College. Those introductions were never “Sam, this is Henry Fairleigh . . .” Gary’s background knowledge of the Auburn Veterinary Medicine family was near encyclopedic. He had a story about almost everybody.

I asked him to let me know when he and Debra planned to move from Owens Road, as Mary Ellen and I (and Kelsey) might want to buy their house. His realtor, Jean Hanson, was too good. She sold it probably an hour after Gary mentioned they might move. Months later, Gary called to tell me of the “For Sale” sign next to them in Willow Creek. We became neighbors for years, which meant I got a wonderful Cajun spice-injected deep-fried turkey at Christmas as well as a companion for traveling to the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando every January. He accompanied me to Birmingham, to Memphis, to Louisiana . . . introducing me to veterinarians who continued as — or became — donors to Auburn.

To a great extent, during my first decade at the College, especially after Dean Vaughan’s retirement, Gary was the face of Auburn Veterinary Medicine. He built alumni relations; he enhanced Annual Conference and made it — and its class reunions — a “can’t miss” event; he took a close-up interest in development; he energized and re-made the College’s annual Open House into a spirited public event. He expanded the scope of the quarterly magazine. He helped bring Betsy Putney’s War Dog statue (by artist Susan Bahary) to campus. He brought profile to the place in many ways. And he put on a lab coat and taught dentistry.

Dr. Beard’s presence was a constant source of strength, guidance and love that shaped me into the person I am today. His kindness, his wisdom and his laughter will echo in my heart for eternity.”

Brad Fields

He was certainly not a perfect man, but Gary Beard — Leeds native, API DVM ’59, Baton Rouge practitioner, Auburn Man — performed many wonderful deeds wherever he went. From my perspective, 1994-2024, the best work I saw him do was in mentoring a young Brad Fields (AUCVM DVM ’05).

Brad came to Auburn from Kentucky with abundant good qualities. He was always going to reach high levels of excellence.

But Gary (and Debra gets much credit here, too) gave Brad opportunities from his early days in Auburn — from sweating through hours of yard work in Willow Creek to leadership roles in the CVM.

Brad’s rise to prominence in veterinary medicine, in the Alabama VMA, in the National Guard — he certainly could have done all that on his own. But as Brad noted in a touching essay the day after Gary passed away, “Dr. Beard’s presence was a constant source of strength, guidance and love that shaped me into the person I am today. His kindness, his wisdom and his laughter will echo in my heart for eternity.”

Well said, Brad. And well done, Gary. We will all miss you.

You made a difference.