George "Ed" Bevard, the son of George E. and Martha E. (Young) Bevard, was born on January 31, 1930 in Bloomington, Illinois. His childhood years were spent in Atlanta, IL where he attended school. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 1948 where he excelled in baseball and was offered a tryout with the Chicago White Sox.
Prior to his tryout with the White Sox, Ed was severely injured in an explosion at a dry cleaning business where he worked. He spent the next 18 months in a hospital recovering from his injuries and dashing his dreams of playing baseball. Ed went on to attend Lincoln Junior College where he graduated with a business degree.
On May 18, 1992, Ed was united in marriage to Marilyn Liesman in Lincoln, IL. They lived in Lincoln for a short time where he worked in sales. His sales career led him and his family to several communities in Illinois, Minnesota, and Iowa. In 1966 they moved to Cherokee where Ed owned Cherokee Ford Tractor. He most recently worked for Holzhauer Motors as a car salesman.
Ed enjoyed collecting coins, stamps, playing cards, and being active with the Republican party. He was also a passionate Hawkeye and St. Louis Cardinals fan. Most of all, Ed loved being around his family and friends.
On May 17, 2011, Ed passed away at the Cherokee Regional Medical Center at the age of 81. He was preceded in death by his parents, George and Martha Bevard; brothers: Bill and Tom and their wives, Millie and Carolyn; Brother and sister-in-law, Merle and Mary Liesman; great nephew, Jon Liesman, and father and mother-in-law, Harold (Brownie) and Emily Liesman.
Ed is survived by his wife, Marilyn of Cherokee; children Cherie (Dennis) Holton of Cherokee, Tom (Connie) Bevard of Cedar Rapids, IA and Todd Bevard of Cherokee and his special friend, Mary Costello of Muscatine, IA. 4 grandchildren: Melanie (Todd) Benson of Overland Park, KS Heather (Jason) Swarthout of Chariton, IA, Stasia Bevard of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and Christopher Bevard and fianc?, Ashley Ahrens of Cedar Rapids, IA; 7 great-grandchildren: Jack, Joe, Trey, and Harper Benson, and Will, Mitch, and Tatum Swarthout; sister-in-law, Diane Liesman of Washington D.C., brother, John Bevard of Mt. Pulaski, IL; and one nephew and five nieces.