Wilhemina Howard Beard

Christian educator and missionary Wilhemina Beard died Tuesday night after losing her battle to liver cancer. She was 71 years old. Born Wilhemina Howard in Beloit, Wisconsin, on October 11, 1943, Beard was a resident of the spa city for seven years, where she created a new life for herself during her retirement. Mina, as she was called, was previously a life-long resident of Beloit, where she was a dedicated wife to Richard L. Franklin and a loving mother to their two sons. She later remarried Elmer Beard, a former eight-term Hot Springs city councilman. The two had first been acquainted with each other in 1961. In 2008, then both widowed, the two became reacquainted and married October of that year. Beard graduated from Memorial High School in Beloit in 1961 and worked as an educational assistant in the Beloit Public Schools. But it was the church where she worked tirelessly and faithfully throughout her life. She was a dutiful member of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Beloit, serving as chairwoman of the 2008 Women's Day Ministry. A former Sunday School superintendent and leader in the Mission Ministry, she also played piano for Sunday School. Her former pastor described her as a committed giver, a woman of God and an example for other Christian women to follow. At Roanoke Baptist Church in Hot Springs where she served as a deaconess, Beard was instrumental in establishing some traditions that the church continues to follow to this day. While most churches celebrate pastor's appreciation day, Beard suggested that Roanoke observe the National Pastors' Appreciation Month in October. And she spearheaded Roanoke's recognition of Veterans' Day. At the church, she also served as a co-assistant Sunday School superintendent and taught the senior girls' class. And most recently, she was president of Mission Ministry. Beard had a heart for art. She would express her artistic creativity throughout her professional and personal life. She was licensed by the State of Wisconsin to create and sell floral arrangements; she founded her own business, Flowers by Mina, which she sold at area festivals in Beloit. And she treasured her porcelain collection of black angels and African American-themed wall paintings. She was an avid baker with a kitchen stocked full of spices and flavors to prepare delicious dishes for her loved ones. She was also a voracious reader with a library of more than 200 books with mostly religious subjects and women's issues. She is preceded in death by her parents Carrie Johnson Howard and Hubert Howard and her first husband of 34 years Richard L. Franklin. She is survived by husband Elmer Beard of Hot Springs; her two sons the Rev. Richard L. "Skip" Franklin II (Kimberley) of Rockford, Illinois; and Robert Franklin of Madison, Wisconsin. She has four grandchildren: Taylor, Aniyah and Kaitlynne and Richard L. Franklin III, all of Rockford, Illinois. She has three siblings: Alberta Francis, the Rev. Roy Howard (Edna), and Francis Howard (Ethel); all of Beloit, Wisconsin. She has two aunts: Evelyn O'Kelly and Delores Johnson, both of Beloit; and a host of nieces and nephews. She also has three stepchildren: Morris L. Beard of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota; Phyllis Beard of Hong Kong; and Sonya Beard of Madrid, Spain. Funeral services will be at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, at the Roanoke Baptist Church at 315 Whittington Ave. in Hot Springs. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the NAACP Branch 6013, P. O. Box 1102, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 71902, or the Roanoke Baptist Church Building Fund, 315 Whittington Ave., Hot Springs, Arkansas 71901.