Anthony Becker

Tony is survived by his mother Bev Barrie and stepfather Dave Barrie, his stepmother Joan McCann, brothers James (Nathalie) and Jeff (Cherie), his sister Jenny (Trey), and his step-sisters Shelley and Karen. He will be greatly missed by his 9 nieces and nephews, and his extended family across the US and Canada. Tony will be especially missed by his beloved dog Kobe. 

Tony was born in Paxton, Illinois in 1962, the firstborn to Beverlee Ann Becker, a former Wren, and Wayne Porter Becker, a Canadian Air Force Radio Technician while on a training course in the US. He was joined two years later by his brother James and four years after that by Jeff in 1968. His father attended the University of Saskatchewan after he was honorably discharged from the Canadian Air Force, where he graduated as an electrical engineer in 1971. A new job in the nuclear industry brought the family to Deep River Ontario where Tony spent his formative years in middle school through grade 13. Jenny joined the family in 1975 when Wayne married Joan. During his high school years, Tony was involved in the Scouts, Robotics Club, AV Club, and the very early days of electronics and personal computers. In his senior year in high school, he created a personal computer, advancing him to the Canadian Science Fair where he placed 2nd. 

After High School, he was accepted into the Electrical Engineering program at the University of Waterloo where unfortunately he found work terms much more interesting than the school terms. He joined Navtel full time, where he had been on work terms, and he soon made himself invaluable. He never looked back. The company specialized in making instruments that tested data transmission rates and accuracy - this was the mid 80’s when the internet was born. This lead him to San Francisco’s Silicon Valley where he started his own company, Mcrsys and worked there as a Program Architect and hired gun until 1989. His commute took him over the elevated highway which collapsed during the World Series earthquake, and he moved to Florida within two weeks. 

The next 30 years were spent continuing to hone his craft and expanding his reputation in the industry. During that time he was married and divorced, owned and drove ever faster cars, and spent his spare time between building a Ferrari kit car and creating an engineer’s playground in his house. He maintained his friendships with his friends from high school and made many life long friends at home in Florida.  

One of his long-standing hobbies, being a HAM radio operator like his father, pushed him to contribute a great deal of his spare time to the promotion of its popularity. His efforts let him to become the president of the Broward Amateur Radio Club and be part of the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES). To round out his activities he played guitar and keyboard and had a skill for mixing music. 

A virtual memorial service to gather and celebrate Tony’s life will be announced by his family in the coming weeks.  

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Tony’s memory to one of the following charities 

Catholic Hospice (where Tony spent his final days)  

https://www.catholichealthservices.org/catholic-hospice/donate/ 

The Shibu Inu Rescue of Florida (who cared for Kobe in the days following his stroke and found him an amazing new home) http://www.shibainurescueflorida.org/