Anita M Beard

Anita Marie Dillow Beard, 98, of Marion, Illinois, passed away peacefully surrounded by family Tuesday morning, November 12, 2024. Anita was born in Dongola, Illinois, on November 2, 1926, the daughter of Carl Levi and Delsie Barkhauser Dillow.

She married Louie Cerney in 1946, and two children were born to this union: Cheryl and Duane, in 1948 and 1950, respectively. She later married the love of her life, Charles Beard, in 1973. Charles preceded her in death in 2017. 

Anita first left her childhood home in rural Dongola after graduating from Dongola High School in 1945 to work at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago for a short while. During the early 1950s, her young family lived in South Bend, Indiana, where she worked as a key-punch operator, before returning to Anna, and for the next 15 years, she raised her children with love and encouragement at home in the Anna Heights area. She attended Mount Moriah Lutheran Church, where she was an organist, and worked at the Anna Locker Plant, followed by a career at the Anna State Hospital as a secretary for many years. During the 1970s, she and Charles lived on Lake of Egypt, afterward moving to Marion in the 1980s. Anita and Charles traveled often, wintering in south Texas for many years. Anita was famous for her quilting, painting, and crafting skills, her extremely pleasant disposition, and award-winning smile. Those who knew her loved her. Anita was a devoted member of the First United Methodist Church in Marion.

 She is survived by her children, Duane (Linda) Cerney, of New York, and Cheryl (Steve) Tuma, of Texas; granddaughter, Cally (John) McGrath and great-granddaughter, Mariel McGrath, of Anna; stepchildren, Lybrand (Kathy) Beard and Theresa Johnson, of Du Quoin; and numerous step-great grandchildren. She also leaves behind her good friends from the Marion Senior Citizens Center, her church family, and her beloved cat, Lucy.

Her parents; husband, Charles Beard; sister, Carlene Dillow Steele; and brother, Paul Dillow, preceded her in death.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Blue Funeral Home under the direction of Binkley-Ross. Graveside services will be held on Friday, November 15, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at Rosehill Cemetery in Marion. Those wishing to attend the service are asked to meet at the graveside shortly before 10:00 a.m. Memorials can be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois or Finding Forever Animal Rescue, in Marion, Illinois. Please visit www.bluefuneral.com to leave your condolences online.