Rick (Beau) Baumgardner, 35, went to start his new life with God, in whom he had unshakable faith, on Monday, December 15, 2008 at Wellmont Bristol Regional Medical Center with his loving family by his side.
He was a resident of Damascus, Virginia his entire life.
He was preceded in death by very special grandparents, Walker and Mary Sweet, and Everett Sr. and Eulala Baumgardner.
He is survived by his father and step-mother, Everett Jr. and Kim Baumgardner of Damascus; his mother and step-father, Nancy and Jim Mathews of Richmond, Virginia.
In addition to his parents, he is survived by the love of his life, his wife, Debra, and the joy of his life, his son, Walker; a half-brother, Matthew Baumgardner of Damascus; and a step brother, Nick Woodall and wife, Kim of Bristol, Virginia. Along with cousins too numerous to mention, he is also survived by his aunts and uncles who never left his side during his brief illness; they are Roy and Ruby Baumgardner, Clarence and Phyllis Baumgardner, Don and Sue Baumgardner, Mark and Wanda Baumgardner, David and Lisa Baumgardner, Violet and Baxter Hicks, Velvet and Phillip Salyers, Karen and Darrell Kestner, Rhoda Stuart, and Georgia Adams.
Rick was a very special man, who touched the lives of everyone he met. As a friend once said, “he has a heart bigger than the world”. To have known him was truly a gift from God, and the world is a better place just to have known him.
Funeral services for Rick Baumgardner will be conducted at 8:00 pm Wednesday, December 17, 2008 in the Main Street Chapel of Farris Funeral Service with Pastor Mike Stuart officiating. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6:00 pm until 7:45 pm Wednesday.
A graveside service will be held at 2:00 pm Thursday, December 18, 2008 in the Baumgardner Family Cemetery on Denton Valley Road in Abingdon, Virginia. Pallbearers will be Bob Mitchell, Brad Baumgardner, Arian Kestner, Shawn Lawson, Trampus Mitchell, and Duff Parks. Honorary Pallbearers will be all of his many cousins and friends who he loved dearly. Those wishing to attend the graveside service are asked to assemble at Farris Funeral Service in Abingdon by 1:15 pm Thursday.