Jacqueline (Jackie) Danese Tackett Beard

After happily attending a family picnic on the Saturday before, Jackie passed away on June 9, 2021 at the age of 94. She was born on January 13, 1927, in Bluestone, West Virginia, the daughter of Jesse and Clayton Tackett.  She survived her parents and her three siblings, Clayton Tackett, Jr., Pete Tackett, and Catherine Tackett Dinkler.  Jacqueline graduated from Bramwell High School and entered the United States Cadet Nurse Corps to study nursing at Raleigh General Hospital School of Nursing in Beckley.  She remained active in the Raleigh General Nursing Alumnae Association and remained friends with her Raleigh General classmates for her entire life.  It was her move to Beckley to study nursing that led her to meet her beloved husband Joe Woods Beard.  They were married for 58 years.

She was preceded in death by her husband Joe, her son Joe II (Butch), her granddaughter Lisa Daniels, and by many of her dearest friends.  She cared for her husband Joe as he battled Alzheimer’s disease for the last years of his life.  

Jackie raised her children in the family home on Crescent Road in Beckley. Between canning the fruits and vegetables from their large garden and cooking a variety of game brought home by Joe and Butch, she liked to sew and keep up with family.  Her daughter Anna and husband Dan Alexander gave her two grandsons: James, of Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Scott and wife Kirsten, of Cape Town, South Africa.  Her daughter Patty and husband Robert Daniels gave her a granddaughter Lisa and her great-granddaughter Emily.  Her daughter-in-law, Theresa remained a constant companion and helper to Jackie after the loss of her only son Butch.

After the family home on Crescent Road became too much for her to handle, Jackie moved to the new Crestview Village apartments where she made many new friends, including her close friend, Laura. She loved to cook and shared many meals and deserts with other folks there.  More recently, she moved to The Villages at Greystone, an assisted living facility.

Jackie served the community for most of her life as a registered nurse, and she loved doing it.  She worked at the old Raleigh General Hospital, at the Raleigh County Health Department, and for the American Red Cross.  She was asked to open the emergency room as Head Nurse at the new Raleigh General Hospital when it was built, and later retired as Continuing Education Director. She was a devoted nurse, and she received much recognition for her work.  She was the recipient of the Thomas F. First Humanitarian Award and Hospital Corporation of America’s Employee of the Year in 1976. 

Although she was too frail to attend recently, Jackie was a member of the Beckley First Baptist Church for almost 70 years.

Friends may call between 1 pm – 2 pm, Sunday, June 13, 2021 at Melton Mortuary and Cremation Center.  The funeral service will begin at 2 pm.  Private interment will be held at Sunset Memorial Park, Beckley, WV.

Melton Mortuary and Cremation Center have been entrusted with burial arrangements and are honored to serve the family.  Words of comfort may be offered to the family by visiting www.meltonmortuary.com

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