Judge W. Harvey Beardmore

Beardmore, Judge W. Harvey (Ret.), age 86, who served on the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Maryland (Anne Arundel, Howard and Carroll Counties) from 1968 until his retirement in 1977, died April 30, 2012 of complications from Parkinson disease.

Judge Beardmore was born on July 29, 1925, in the community of Weems Creek, Annapolis, and attended Annapolis public schools, graduating from Annapolis High School in 1942. In WWII, he served in
France and Germany in the Infantry and the Air Corps and was discharged in 1946.

He graduated from George Washington University Law School, with honors, in 1952. He was admitted to Phi Delta Phi, an international legal scholastic fraternity. Upon graduation, he was selected by Judges Edwin Delaplaine and Stephen R. Collins to serve as a law clerk at the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Following this internship, he began the practice of law as an associate to Albert J. Goodman, Esq., and later he began practice in partnership with Bernard L. Roth, Esq.

In 1953, the Anne Arundel Republican Central Committee appointed him Executive Director with the goal of increasing Republican registration. He ran the county campaigns and represented statewide candidates for several years.

In 1956, he became a member of the Annapolis law firm of Rouse and Morton (John G. Rouse, Jr. and James C. Morton, Jr. The latter became a judge of the Court of Special Appeals.) The firm name was later changed to Rouse, Morton and Beardmore.

He accepted civic positions in the county. He served as president of the Broadneck Council, an amalgamation of community associations on the Broadneck Peninsula. He was counsel to the County Board of License Commissioners and the County Board of Electrical Examiners.

Upon his appointment to the bench, he became Chairman of the Fifth Judicial Circuit Committee on Rules, was appointed to the Publicity Committee of the Maryland Judicial Conference, and served on the Executive Committee of that body. He was appointed Vice-Chairman of the Rules Committee of the National Conference of State Trial Judges.

In 1971, he served as president of the Anne Arundel County Bar Association. He instituted a program of continuing legal education and inaugurated an administrative system that spurred better planning and development of the association's goals and purposes. He received an award for his efforts and was made its first Life Member.

He was a member of the Maryland State Bar Association (serving on many committees), the American Bar Association and the American Judicature Society. He was known for his scholarly approach to the law and often was consulted for advice by other lawyers and judges.

Following his retirement from the bench, he was appointed Director of Training and Research for the State's Attorney's Office until 1979. He served as an Arbitrator, Community Arbitration Project, Department of Juvenile Services from 1980 to 1990.

A member of St. Margaret's Church, Westminster Parish, he served as Senior Warden, Lay Reader, adviser to the Acolytes' Guild, a member of the Christian Education Committee, editor of the Spire, Church Regional Commissioner in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

He was an enthusiastic photographer and specialized in portraits and landscapes.

Survivors include his wife, Elsie Loftus Beardmore; a nephew, Clayton A. Beardmore of Severna Park; nieces, Marian Klakring of Annapolis, and Florence R. Bethel of Salisbury.

He is a direct descendant of John Boies, an American Revolutionary soldier who served in the 6th Co. 3rd New Hampshire Regiment under Col. Poore.

Relatives and friends may call on Wednesday, May 2 from 6-8 PM at Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester St., Annapolis. Services will be held at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church, 1601 Pleasant Plains Road, on Thursday, May 3 at 1:00 PM. Interment will be in the church cemetery.