Edward Jerome Becker

Edward, known as Ed to most and as “B” to close family, grew up in Chicago, attended DePaul University, and served in the United States Army. During the Korean War, he was stationed in the Presidio in San Francisco.

After the army, Ed earned his pilot’s license. He moonlighted as a courier but mostly flew for fun.

Ed was charming. He was in sales and he connected easily with people. He was always looking for deals and he had relationships with people that could get him a special price on just about anything from Neil Diamond concert tickets to a new car, or a diamond for a custom ring for his beloved wife, Gail.

He loved Castle Rock Lake in Wisconsin and kept a mobile home in a crowded park on the shore. In the 1970s, he struck up a relationship with two elderly sisters who owned the adjacent farm and bought the land when they were ready to retire. His family and friends thought he was a little crazy when he first talked about building his own mobile home park, but he forged ahead. He put in roads and septic systems, moved his trailer onto the property, and leased a few sites to others, eventually building a thriving business that he ran for more than 40 years.

When he wanted to expand, he ran into a problem: in his vast network of business connections, he didn’t know anyone that sold mobile homes. So, he became a licensed dealer. A few years later, the Wisconsin Power & Light Company wanted to get sailing established on Castle Rock Lake and reached out to Ed. He was a fisherman and had a motorboat but didn’t really know anything about sailing. Nevertheless, Ed and Gail took on the challenge, became licensed instructors and vendors of Butterflies, Hobie Cats, and Windsurfers and took Castle Rock Lake from zero sailboats to the host of a regional Hobie Cat regatta.

In 1999 Ed and Gail pursued their dream of retiring to Florida while continuing to run the business in Wisconsin through December 2022.

Ed is survived by his wife Gail, his children Steve Becker (Vanessa), Susan Becker Dodd, Kristin Brown (Mahmoud), Randall Brown (Hailey), Stephanie Skarulis, and grandchildren Melinda, Danielle, Tiffany, Calvin, Allison, Mazzin, Xavier, Benjamin, Tavis, Caspian, Skyler, Haley, AJ, Luke, and Simon.

A memorial service was held at Saint Boniface Church on Siesta Key on Friday, August 8. Internment with military honors will be at Sarasota National Veterans’ Cemetery on Thursday, August 21st at 10:30AM.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Tunnel to Towers Foundation or to the Hurricane Relief fund of St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota, FL.