The Cheney Free Press, Cheney, Washington, April 10, 1902

"An Untimely Death

Friday morning of last week Thomas J. Beard, one of the oldest pioneers of this vicinity dropped dead at Marshall of heart failure.

Death came absolutely without warning. Mr. Beard, although 63 years of age, had always enjoyed the most robust health. He had never had any trouble with his heart until very recently and then only some light attacks that gave no warning of the seriousness of the complaint.

The morning of his death he was in particularly good health when he left home to drive to the mill at Marshall for a load of feed. He had completed his errand and was starting on the return trip when the end came. Those at the mill noticed him wavering in his seat and suddenly his strength seemed to give way and he fell to the ground, striking beside the wagon. His fall was sitnessed by several but before assistance could reach him he was beyond all human aid. As his friends picked him up he gave a gasp or two and all was over.

The family was notified and coroner Baker was at once summoned. Dr. Baker pronounced it a case of heart failure and the body was immediately removed to the family residence three miles west of Cheney.

The funeral was Sunday afternoon. Brief song services were held at the house. As the cortege passed through Cheney it was joined by the Odd Fellows Rebekahs and Knights of Pythias and a large number of town friends of the deceased. Funeral services were conducted at the grave in Fairview cemetery by the Odd Fellows in accordance with the beautiful ritual of that order.

The attendance at the funeral exercises was a true guide to the esteem in which the deceased was held. The procession was one of the longest ever seen in Cheney, nearly a mile all told, and was made up of hundreds of Mr. Beard's old friends, many coming from as far away as Spokane.

Thomas Jeffeson Beard was born in 1839 in Kankakee, Illinois. While still a boy he crossed the plains to Oregon in a wagon train with his parents in 1852 and lived there until March 1878, when he came here and located his farm in the Four Lakes country. His part in the development of the country was very prominent during tghe early days. He was among the first, if not the pioneer saw mill man of northeastern Washington.

Mr. Beard was one of those men who just seemed to make friends with everybody. To know him was to like him. Such was the character of the man and a hundred more words could not make it more clear.

He leaves a widow, two sons and seven daughters, his death being a first of all the family. The sons, John and Arthur, are in business at Deer Park. Three of the daughters, Hortense, Pearl, and Annie are unmarried and live at home. The other daughters are Mrs. E. B. Wingard of Cheney, Mrs. T. J. Kelly of Newport, Mrs. G. C. Corbaley of Spokane and Mrs. Ben Martin, who is living in Minnesota."

Note: According to his obituary, Thomas was originally buried in Fairview Cemetery in Cheney, Spokane County, WA. His wife Margaret survived him and died in 1924, and on her death was buried in Riverside Memorial Park in Spokane. Riverside was established in 1907, five years after Thomas' death. It appears that Thomas was moved to Riverside Memorial sometime after his death, as his and Margaret's grave markers are side by side at Riverside.