John “JE” Edsel Beard, III

John “JE” Edsel Beard, III November 13, 1949 – June 6, 2016 John “JE” Edsel Beard, III, 67, of Bailey, passed away after a yearlong battle with cancer. JE, as he was known to all his friends, died peacefully at home surrounded by family and loved ones. He is survived by his loving wife of twenty-two years, Barbara; son, Kevin and wife, Debbie; his sisters, Sherry Beard – Tant and Jimmy, and Kay Beard and Greg Nelson; his grandchildren, Sierra, Heather, Brittany and Tyler, and special fur babies, Petey and Pepper. He was preceded in death by his parents, Jean and Edsel Beard; a daughter, Stacey Beard, and his grandson, Kevin Dale Beard. Growing up in Bailey, JE was known for his athleticism, and was a standout basketball player for Bailey High School for four years. His skills earned him a scholarship to Louisburg College, which he declined to follow his true passion, which he had inherited from his father’s racing career. Through the early and mid-70’s he first started driving for Root Perry and then with Herman Sadler then partnering and driving with Wayne Collie and his father. JE dominated the local racing scene. One of his greatest memories was of a challenged race against Dale Earnhardt in Fayetteville, which would have earned a slot in the Charlotte 500. JE started on the inside pole and lead every lap, only to be passed by Dale at the finish line. Although disappointed they remained lifelong friends, even though his driving skills were legendary in North Carolina and Virginia racing communities. It was his ability to build racing engines that took him to Charlotte and NASCAR. Under the tutelage of Jack Tant, he gained the knowledge and ability to build race engines that could compete and win at the NASCAR level. During his career he built engines for such NASCAR notables as Buddy Baker, Cale Yarborough and Richard Petty and in 1988 with Lake Speed winning his first NASCAR race at the Transouth 500 at Darlington, South Carolina. However, his proudest accomplishment came after a move to Abingdon, Virginia and joining the Morgan McClure Racing Team and being recognized for his work on the engines used by Sterling Marlin in his “Back to Back” Daytona 500 wins. For this, he received two Daytona 500 rings, the first of which he gifted to his father. Over the years there were many articles of JE written in racing publications and he appeared in several NASCAR documentaries, but with all the accolades he always remained humble and a true friend to anyone he ever met, especially his “little buddy” Stevie Eatmon. Because of his love for animals, in lieu of flowers, the family ask that donations be made to, Highlands Stray Fund, VCA Highland Animal Hospital, 25011 Lee Hwy, Abingdon, Virginia 24211 or by phone, (276) 628-4115 Condolences may be directed to www.joyners.net.