Gary Joseph Becker & Sandra Jean Becker

On Saturday December 26, 2020, Gary Joseph Becker of German descent, passed away at the age of 75. Gary is survived by his two children, Eric (spouse Vonda) and Kevin (spouse Summer); his brother, Cliff, and sister-in-Law, Kathy; six grandchildren, Kyle (spouse Amey), Laura, Emily (spouse Joe), Natalie, Nate and Dillon; one greatgrandchild, Adeline; and several cousins, nieces, and nephews.

Gary was born in Grosse Point Woods, Michigan to Raymond and Joy Becker and he grew up in Detroit with his brother, Cliff. He admired his father; the dedication and drive he saw in his father transcended into his own life. He was disciplined and had things planned to the letter, yet had fun embellishing life in the stories he told. Any unplanned events that deviated from his plan made him anxious, yet his counterpart in life, Sandy, enjoyed the unplanned and spur of the moment events.

He served four years in the Navy during Vietnam where he picked up his trade as a Heavy Diesel Mechanic. During his time in the Navy, he married Sandra Jean Krist in 1966, whom he had met in high school and fell in love when they both worked for Lamb Company. When he left the Navy, he remained in sunny San Diego with his wife, as he loved the sun over the snow. He worked in that trade until he retired from the Union. He enjoyed taking annual family vacations to Oregon and Washington. There was a time when he wanted to retire to Oregon, and on a vacation trip he pulled into a CAT dealer and had an interview. When he came out, he said “I was offered the job, but the pay is low,” not realizing that the cost of living in Oregon was much cheaper than San Diego at that time. Once he retired, he would take trips to visit his oldest son, Eric, and his family in Washington, or the “Pacific Northwest” as he often referred to where they lived. As his Parkinson’s became more severe, his trips were limited, but he was grateful his final trip was to his Granddaughter, Emily’s wedding.

Gary had a passion for writing. He could make the reader think they were in the story he told or events he attended. He was never lacking words. He saw things in life how he planned them to be rather than how they actually were. Toward the end, when Parkinson’s started to debilitate him, he would still write lengthy and detailed texts and emails to friends and family. He would struggle through the pain and limited mobility to share with all. It was only in the final weeks when he lost all movement in is arms and hands that he lost the joy of writing and could no longer send out greetings. His colorful and entertaining updates and stories will be missed.

He also loved to build models, create woodworking crafts, shoot guns, and the grandkids were the joy of his life; he spoiled them as much as he could. As well as his creativity, he was known for his faith in the Lord and encouragement in the Word. He spent many years volunteering in the church, hosting homegroups, and training his children and grandchildren in “the way they should go,” as Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

His dedication, involvement in the church, and disciplined life showed us how we should live our lives, and his legacy will remain in the values he taught us and his grandchildren as he lived his life in faith.