Gary Wayne Beard

Gary W. Beard, 66, of Sonoma California recently passed away at his home.

Gary was born on February 16, 1951 in South Bend, Indiana to Wayne and Martha (Grossnickle) Beard. He graduated in 1969 from LaSalle High School in South Bend and later from Purdue University in 1973. In his younger years, Gary was known as a fun loving young man who was always ready to have a good time and was never short on friends. He was the life of the party. Gary married Karen Neubauer on May 24, 1986 and the two enjoyed 31 wonderful years of marriage. For work, Gary had a successful career as a contractor in Marin County, California. In October of 2001, Gary fell and suffered a severe brain injury, but he fought hard and survived to live a happy life. Gary loved to cheer for the San Francisco 49ers and San Francisco Giants.  He will be dearly missed by his family and friends.

Gary is survived by: his loving wife, Karen; his loving sister, Sandy (Richard) Nowatka of Peru, IL; his step-brother Patrick (Beverly) Soellinger of Lake Geneva, WI; his step-son Bill and his step-grandson Austin, both of Napa, CA. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, relatives and other friends

He is preceded in death by: his parents, step-father, Aubert Soellinger; sister Janeen (Thomas) Kromkowski; and step-brother, Larry Soellinger.

A private family service will be held at a later date. 

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