John William Beard

Beard was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 15, 1920. His family moved to California about 1922. He attended University of Redlands before enlisting in the army and went to law school at Southwestern University School of Law upon completion of his military service. He married Ann Dodgen in October 1945. He died February 7, 2006 in La Vida Real, a retirement community in Rancho San Diego, California.[3]

Beard was a pilot in the United States Army Air Forces in the European theatre of World War II. After completing law school, he practiced law for two years at Lane and McGinnis in Los Angeles, California. He then served at the district attorney's office in Imperial County, California from 1952–1955. He served in the California State Senate from 1957–1961. He was the Chairman, California Industrial Accident Commission 1960–1965. He was a judge for the El Cajon Municipal Court 1980 until he retired about 1990.