John Francis Becker

November 10, 1923 – March 2, 2025

John Francis Becker, 101, beloved father and grandfather, was a recent resident of Sebastopol and Oakland, CA, and spent most of his life in the Philadelphia, PA suburbs.

Raised in Arnolds Park, IA, John served as a supply sergeant in World War II in the Pacific Theater, including Leyte, Okinawa, and Hokkaido. He received numerous honors including the American Theater Ribbon and the World War II Victory Medal.

After the war, John graduated from Iowa State University, where he was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He was a career paper and plastic food packaging expert in the US and Europe.

John enjoyed playing bridge and golf, sailing, traveling, and being a docent with Independence National Park. He enjoyed multiple road-trips in Europe and across the US. He served as Head of Lectors at St. Monica Roman Catholic Church in Berwyn, PA. He was an experimental aircraft enthusiast, active woodworker and enjoyed maintaining his Berwyn, PA, and NJ Shore homes and was known for his exceptional lawn!

In 2019, John moved west, and he and daughter Elizabeth began a new chapter in their lives together. During the pandemic, they dubbed their care partner antics “JohnBecker.TV,” showcasing that it’s never too late to live a full and meaningful life. John received most of his WWII benefits late in life and became a strong advocate for veterans and their families.

John is survived by his daughter Elizabeth Meyer Becker and her partner Paul D. Cannan, her children Sophie C. Bransfield and Joseph (Patrick) Bransfield IV, and their father Joseph P. Bransfield III. He is also survived by his step-daughter Diane DiPaolo Anderson, her daughter and son-in-law Katherine S and Douglas Chansky, John’s great-grandchildren, Justin Schug and Jordan Chansky, and his extended family of cousins, nieces and nephews, and dear friends and neighbors. In addition to his parents Adolph Francis Becker and Rose Meyer Becker, John is predeceased by his first wife, Dorothy Vater DiPaolo Becker, his second wife, Mary McGinty Parkinson Becker, and his sister Elizabeth Louise Becker Halloran.

John lived a life filled with rich experiences, dedicating himself to hard work, family, community, the pursuit of knowledge and new connections. He was a really good neighbor and would tell you to live your life fully, as he did, right to the end. When given the opportunity for a new adventure, he would always say, “Let’s Go!”

This above all: to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst not then be false to any man.

– William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 3

Services are planned for Santa Rosa, CA, Piedmont, CA, and Berwyn, PA. Military honors and interment will be in Ossian, IA.