Sergeant 1st Class Gerald Glenn Beaird
A Tribute to the Life of Sergeant 1st Class Gerald Beaird (cousin of Dale Carver, son of Mildred and Jerry Beaird):
Gerald Beaird was born December 3, 1962, in Loretto Hospital, Maywood, Illinois to Jerry and Mildred Beaird. From the age of five Gerald displayed amazing mechanical talent, conducting experiments on the effect of water in the gas tank of the family vehicle. This left no doubt in his mother’s mind he would be a mechanic as an adult. Gerald enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1980 as a heavy wheeled vehicle mechanic. He was 17 years old.
During his career Gerald served at: Fort Dix, New Jersey; Fort Gordon, Georgia; Ogden Defense Depot, Utah; Los Alamitos, California; and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Gerald also served three full tours in Germany, a short tour in Bosnia (October 1996-April 1997) and temporary duty in Egypt (1999).
Gerald retired from military service in 2000. After retirement he worked in several locations, ending up at the Ogden Defense Depot as a contractor working in the field of forklift repair, a mechanic at heart his entire life.
Gerald died of cancer March 14, 2018. He is survived by his wife of 32 years, Michelle Beaird, their son Lyle, their daughter Sarah, Gerald’s adopted daughter Erika, Gerald’s mother, Mildred, his sister Cheryl, his brother Jim, and his half-sister, Signa.