Aileen Frances (Foster) Beard

Aileen, Mom, Granny, or Skid (if you went to Paseo High School with her) was born in 1924 in Kansas City, Missouri where she grew up in the shadow of old Fairyland Park. Aileen was raised during the Great Depression and mastered the art and science of feeding an entire family of seven with one loaf of bread and a single can of Spam!

Married in 1942, during World War II, to Paul William Beard, Aileen had six children (Paul II, Henry, Deborah [Anthes], John H. (Jay), Scott, and Autumn [Mumaw]) and fiercely raised five children to adulthood. Aileen and her growing family moved from downtown Kansas City to rural Jackson County and became very active with life outside of the city. She stayed busy with gardening, raising livestock, mentoring youth through 4-H classes and serving as a stalwart of St. Matthew Presbyterian Church in Grandview where she served as a deacon, organized the weekly soup kitchen, and was on the board of the pre-school.

She was also active in the school system with her children attending Grandview schools from 1955 to 1976, then grandchildren in Grandview schools into the 2000s. After her husband, Paul, died in 1998, Aileen stayed on the Highway 150 acreage and maintained that property for another near quarter century as well as being a highly respected volunteer at the Lee's Summit Hospital.

Aileen leaves four surviving children, 12 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren.

Aileen was preceded in death by her parents George Herbert and Mary Foster, her sister Mary Jean, her husband Paul William, son Henry (infant), and son Paul William II.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Funeral Service at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer, & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, MO at 11 AM on Saturday, May 11, 2024. Visitation with the family will begin at 10 AM. Committal Services to follow at Mount Moriah Cemetery South.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you may consider a donation to Advanced Hospice of Overland Park, Kansas in Memory of Aileen Beard.