How do you celebrate an extraordinary family? One that has devoted themselves to bringing skilled nursing into thousands of homes across Alabama? One that has given generously in support of hospice and palliative care for decades?

A portrait of Charles and Mary Sue Beard.For the family of the late Charles D. Beard Jr., the answer is simple. Keep on giving.

Encountering unexpected compassion

When young Charles Beard was growing up in Birmingham’s West End, he dreamed of flying airplanes. At the age of 17, he convinced his mother to sign the papers allowing him to serve his country as an Army pilot at the beginning of World War II.

Stationed in England, Charles took to the skies as a co-pilot on bombing missions for the Allies. Things took a dramatic turn in 1944 when his plane was shot down over Belgium.

“He was MIA behind enemy lines for ten months,” his daughter Susan Beard Brouillette recalls. “Daddy was caught in a barn by local farmer and interrogated by the Belgian Underground.”

Susan continues, “I think his experience being shot down in a foreign country and taken in by total strangers who saved his life was a big part of the reason he cared so much about taking care of people. He often told us, ‘You are your brother’s keeper — even if you don’t know it, or don’t want to be.’”

Stumbling upon a calling

After the war, Charles returned to daily life in the States. He met and married Mary Sue Graham, who would be his devoted wife for the next 55 years, and they started a family together. Recalled to active duty in the Korean War, Charles was stationed abroad with his growing family until 1964.

Upon his retirement from military life, Charles brought his family home to Birmingham and worked as a pilot-turned-salesman for an oil and gas venture company. In this role, he spent lots of time in local doctors’ offices waiting to discuss investments with them.

“He was reading all the magazines in their lobbies,” Susan says. “And he learned about Medicare starting a new home health benefit. It had always bothered him that his own mom had to be moved to a nursing home before she died, and the idea of having someone who could help people in a home setting intrigued him.” 

Launching a family business

In 1970, with zero experience in health care, but an entrepreneurial spirit and a “big, big heart for people,” Charles founded a new home health company in Birmingham.

“He called it his ‘do-gooder’ work,” Susan recalls. And it soon became a family enterprise that set the standard for home health care in the city. While Charles was the charming face of the business, Mary Sue was an anchor at home, making it possible for the new venture to thrive.

Susan emphasizes, “My parents were a team, and Mom deserves a lot of credit. Women of her generation didn’t get enough recognition for supporting their husbands.”  

Eventually, the company grew into 19 branches across central Alabama — Alacare Home Health and Hospice — with two of the five Beard children as part of the leadership team. Their son, John, joined the company in the 1970s, and Susan soon followed in the 1980s.

Founding a philanthropic partnership

As the business prospered, the family began looking for ways to share the gift of health care beyond the bounds of their business. They didn’t have to search long to realize that UAB was a perfect investment. Their first charitable gift was to establish a comfortable family room in the Palliative and Comfort Care Unit, where caregivers could step away from the bedside but remain close to their loved ones.

“The PCCU is the clinical heart of the UAB Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. Patients nearing end of life, those still undergoing curative therapies, and those transitioning to survivorship all benefit from a palliative approach,” explains Center Director Rodney Tucker, M.D., MMM.

From that first gift, the relationship between the Beard family and UAB grew over many years. When Charles died in 2001, John and Susan went on to run Alacare side by side until they sold the business to Encompass Health in 2019. Now, the siblings have both “retired” from daily work, but they continue to stay actively involved in their own non-profit, their extended family, and the mission of UAB’s palliative care programs.

Now, after decades of commitment to health care, the Beard family has made an additional gift that will extend their legacy even further. They will establish a new endowed chair that will focus on the development of palliative communication as a vital clinical skill.

Endowing a legacy in care

“From the provider perspective, learning and practicing conversational approaches that demonstrate care for the whole person is an integral part of becoming a true palliative specialist. When the care team gains experience in talking about all that surrounds serious illness, it equips them with the confidence to handle the emotions that accompany diagnosis, treatment, and beyond,” Tucker says.

To that end, the Charles D. Beard Jr. Family Endowed Chair in Healthcare Communication will provide funds to enable the appointed faculty holder to devote sufficient time to the activities of training and scholarship that would otherwise be unsupported in a clinical role, expanding our understanding and practice of communication in the context of serious illness.

“Communication is so key to life. The biggest thing that we struggle with is communicating effectively with one another,” Susan shares. “I think my parents would be extremely proud of this investment.”

“We are deeply grateful for the continued investment that two generations of the Beard family have made. Their generosity will shape the future of how we talk with our patients and their loved ones about serious illness,” Tucker says. “We are thrilled that they have chosen to keep on giving — communication, care, and comfort.”