Anita Marie Dillow Beard
Anita Marie Dillow Beard, 98, of Marion, passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Tuesday morning, Nov. 12, 2024.
Anita was born in Dongola on Nov. 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, Ind., 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 Mt. Moriah Lutheran Church in Anna, 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; step-children 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 were entrusted to Blue Funeral Home under the direction of Binkley-Ross. Graveside services were Friday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. at Rosehill Cemetery in Marion.
Memorials can be made to Hospice of Southern Illinois or to Finding Forever Animal Rescue in Marion. Visit www.bluefuneral.com to leave condolences online.