John B. Beard

New Middletown - John B. Beard, 85, passed away Sunday, March 27, 2022 in the emergency room of St. Elizabeth Boardman Hospital.

John was born August 21, 1936 in Youngstown, Ohio, a son of the late Arthur and Elizabeth Lute Beard.

A lifelong Mahoning Valley resident, John was a graduate of Canfield High School, Class of 1954. After high school, John served in the United States Marine Corps, where he was awarded a National Service Defense Medal. Returning to the area, after his honorable discharge, John worked for Tri-State Plumbing and Charniga Plumbing, before starting his own company, Johnco Plumbing & Heating, in the 1970s. He dedicated his talents to the trade for over 50 years as a master plumber or as John termed it, "A Flushing Engineer." John's sense of humor and his many quirky sayings, or "Johnisms" as his family lovingly referred to them as, brought smiles to many faces.

Some of John's favorite hobbies included playing softball in his younger years, golfing with friends, and bowling in the Lutheran Men's League and Poland Businessmen's League, once achieving a perfect 300 game. He also enjoyed fishing locally at Evans and Pine Lakes and in the Outer Banks while vacationing, mowing grass on his John Deere tractor, and rooting for the Browns, Indians, and Buckeyes.

A longtime member of Christ Lutheran Church in Struthers, John enjoyed helping with church activities and served on its council as past president, vice-president, and treasurer.

John leaves to carry on his memory, his wife the former Carol J. Holtzman, whom he married December 1, 1972; children, John T. (Jill) Beard of Poland, Lisa Major of Struthers, and Beth McMasters of Abingdon, Maryland; siblings, Richard Beard of Steubenville and Joanne (Dennis) Deemer of New Middletown; grandchildren, Rachyl (Tony) Kos, Matthew (Krista) Beard, Jason Diamantes, Joshua Diamantes, Michael Major, and Tyler Major; great-grandchildren, Marcus, Dylan, Ryan, Abby, Matthew, Dominic, Kaiden, and Mason; great-great-grandchild, Nico; son-in-law, Stephen Vann of Virginia; and many nieces, nephews, and friends.

In addition to his parents, John was preceded in death by three children, Jennifer McMasters Vann, infant Patricia Beard, and infant Robert Beard; siblings, Robert Beard, Caroline Gould, and Nancy Daugherty; and his faithful companion, Charmin.

Family and friends will be received on Saturday, April 2, 2022 from 10-11:45 a.m. at Cunningham-Becker Funeral Home, 270 N. Main St., Poland, where a funeral service will follow at noon.

In honor of John's lifelong love of the Canfield Fair, memorial tributes may take the form of contributions to the family to purchase a memorial bench at the fairgrounds, or to John's church, Christ Lutheran Church, 250 Sexton St., Struthers, Ohio 44471.

John's family would like to express their appreciation and thank Dr. John Koval, Dr. John Chiaro, Fresenius Kidney Care, and Patriot Home Health, especially Rachel, for their wonderful care and kindness.

Please visit www.beckerobits.com to share memories and online condolences with John's family.