Captain Harold B. Beck

August 08, 1929 - December 18, 2025

Harold passed away in the early hours of December 18 in his sleep. He is predeceased by his wife Memorambilus, son Bruce, and his brothers Noel and Richard, but survived by his son Darrell. My father had been the stalwart of the family who was always generous and helpful in times of need.
Harold was born in Vancouver to Norwegian immigrants and lived on their farm in Surrey til age 15.
Upon the death of his father, he got a job on a trans-Pacific freighter to earn money to help support the family. He stayed in the deep-sea business til 1949, visiting ports in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and the USA. Afterwards, he became a first mate on tugboats on the BC coast, receiving his Master papers in 1952, and would subsequently become a tugboat captain for Kingcome Navigation til 1964. In 1964, he wrote and passed the piloting exam and became a BC Coast Pilots Ltd., to which he would continue to be til his retirement in 1990. In the last four years at the pilots, he was part of the steering committee that ran BC Coast Pilots Ltd.
In 1955, Harold met Memorambilus (Memory) Stevens and, after a 6-week romance, they got married and stayed together til her passing in 2024.
After retirement, Harold was active with the Sons of Norway and with the Lutheran Church. Harold and Memory did a great deal of travelling on cruises and traveled to Europe, Australia/New Zealand, and Hawaii. A keen interest in his Norwegian heritage is reflected in his 6 trips to Norway, where he connected with distant relatives, with the last trip being when he was 91.
Until 3 years ago, Harold had stayed quite active; he still drove and remained intellectually sharp. He remained in his home til medical issues made it impossible. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.
A Celebration of Life will occur on Saturday, January 17, at 2 pm at the Sons of Norway Hall, 1110 Hillside Ave, Victoria, BC.