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Richard S. Beardsley | Temple educator, 52

Richard S. Beardsley, 52, of Frankford, who taught broadcast journalism at Temple University and cofounded its student TV news program, died of cancer Friday, June 24, at Chandler Hall Hospice in Newtown.

Richard S. Beardsley, 52, of Frankford, who taught broadcast journalism at Temple University and cofounded its student TV news program, died of cancer Friday, June 24, at Chandler Hall Hospice in Newtown.

Mr. Beardsley taught in Temple's School of Communications for 26 years. In 1988, he cofounded the weekly Temple Update to give students news-gathering experience.

Mr. Beardsley was calm and reassuring, and his students learned to love TV broadcasting and the Beatles, his niece Kristen Mallon said. The Fab Four's music was always playing in the production studio, she said.

Mr. Beardsley was the recipient of the CNN Newsource Award of Excellence and the Pennsylvania Broadcasters Association Award of Excellence, and had been honored by the Temple University Alumni Association.

He graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School and earned a bachelor's degree from Temple.

Growing up in Lawncrest, he took photos and home movies of his eight siblings. While teaching, in his leisure time, he continued to photograph and film his family, as well as hockey and lacrosse games and landscapes.

In addition to his niece, Mr. Beardsley is survived by brothers Harold, Donald, and David; sisters Susan Seckinger, Jacqueline Peterson, Patricia Beardsley and Cynthia Short; and nieces and nephews.

A celebration of his life will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 29, at Spring Mill Manor, 171 Jacksonville Rd., Ivyland.

Donations may be made online to standup2cancer.org.