Former University of Wisconsin athletic director Pat Richter recalled some of the golf conversations that he used to have with Doug Beard and how they often revolved around Beard working as a caddie during his youth in Kennebunkport, Maine. There was even a reference to Beard caddying for former U.S. president George Herbert Walker Bush, whose summer home was in Kennebunkport. In retrospect, Richter agreed, there was no better way to describe Beard’s work ethic and willingness to do the heavy lifting for someone else without expecting credit in return. “He was just the type of guy who would carry a (golf) bag,” Richter said. “He had that kind of mentality — blue collar and very solid and dependable.”
Like so many fellow workers, past or present, within the UW athletic department, Richter was shocked and saddened to learn of Beard’s death Friday. The 46-year-old Beard has been an integral component of the administrative team, dating to 2001 when Richter recruited and hired Beard from UW-Milwaukee.