Tara Lyn Autry

Tara grew up in San Antonio, TX, Herndon, VA, and Mandeville, LA. After graduating from Mandeville High School in 1989, Tara attended both Southeastern Louisiana University and the University of New Orleans, earning a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. She then continued her education in the graduate studies program at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans where she received her Masters in Rehabilitation Counseling in 2000. She was extremely proud of her accomplishments as a student.

At the age of eight, Tara was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Living with this condition proved to be a challenge for Tara, but, with her tremendous spirit, she refused to let her life be controlled by her illness. She excelled at school even though she would have to miss class being, at times, very ill. Through it all, she was an exceptional student who was accepted and participated in her schools’ Gifted and Talented programs. Tara was active in the Louisiana Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation She was selected as the foundation’s poster child in the early 1980’s and got to rub elbows with celebrities who would attend events with Tara.

Tara was outgoing, charismatic, and loved meeting new people. Her friends would often describe her as the life of the party. Even later in her life, when her illness began to take its toll on her body, she would still look forward to visits from friends, old and new, and family. She was a true raconteur, with great stories to tell. Tara would always impress people with her memory of events, recalling the smallest details of times she had spent with the person with whom she was talking. Tara was loved deeply by her family her devoted father, mother, and sister. She adored her nephew Colin and always had him saying funny things to the family.

Tara is preceded in death by her father and best friend Robert Gene Autry, stepfather Roger Dale Beamer, and grandparents Robert Taylor and Laura Hulda Autry and Elmer Orland and Maude Myrtle Davis. She is survived by her mother Jan Davis Beamer, sister Tamara Parrish, brother-in-law Michael Parrish, nephew Colin Parrish, and many aunts uncles and cousins.

There will be a family gravesite service at Sunset Memorial Park in San Antonio, TX on Saturday September 23, 2017 at 1:00pm.