Lanier Beck

Lanier "Buddy" Beck, age 88, passed away June 26, 2017 from complications of Parkinson's Disease. Buddy was the son of John T. and Clara (Lanier) Beck, and was born in the Spring Hill community, Webster County, MS. in 1929. He was a member of Longview Heights Baptist Church, Olive Branch, MS. Buddy was also a member of Masonic Lodge #746 in Frayser, TN, and was a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason. He retired from Memphis Light Gas and Water after 37 years. Buddy graduated from Spring Hill High School in 1947. After graduation, he served in the Armed Forces from 1947-1948, stationed primarily in Fort Knox, KY. He attended classes at the University of Tennessee in Memphis as well as Memphis State University. His hobbies and interests included flying, gardening, fishing, camping, reading, and woodworking. Buddy was known to friends and family as the Master Gardener, because not only was his garden beautiful and pleasing to the eye, his crop yields were always quick, bountiful, and delicious. He and Sue loved to camp, and Buddy never failed to locate someone anywhere they traveled who was related to or connected to his wide network of friends, family, and acquaintances. He and his surviving wife, Margery Sue Beck, were married on December 25, 1952 and eventually settled in Frayser, TN to raise their family and in later years moved to Olive Branch, MS. He is survived by a son, James Ronald Beck (Cherene) of Olive Branch, MS., daughter, Patricia Dianne (Michael) Pendergrass, Chattanooga, TN, and three grandchildren, Caitlin Pendergrass Horton (Kennedy) of Shanghai, China, Zachary Pendergrass of Chattanooga, TN, and Taylor Beck of Houston, TX. Buddy is also survived by two brothers: Robert Earl Beck (Bobbie), of Madison, MS and Richard Murrell Beck (Ruby Helen), of Cadaretta, MS, and beloved nieces and nephews. The family will receive friends on Friday June 30, 2017 from 1pm until the funeral service begins at 2pm, all at Brantley Funeral Home, 6875 Cockrum St. Olive Branch. A graveside service will take place on Saturday July 1, 2017 at 1pm at the Philadelphia Baptist Church Cemetery in Cadaretta, MS. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, those who wish to commemorate Buddy's life are asked to contribute to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, or the charity of their choice.