Dolores Rheinwalt "Dee" Becker

1926 - 2020

Dolores "Dee" Rheinwalt Becker

Wilmington- Dolores "Dee" Rheinwalt Becker, age 93, longtime resident of Wilmington, departed her earthly life on Monday, April 13, 2020, after a brief illness, at the home of her granddaughter, Martie Sturtevant, and surrounded by family. Dee was born in Reading, Pennsylvania on August 6, 1926 to John F. Rheinwalt and Mary Brennan Rheinwalt. Dee graduated from Reading Catholic High School on June 6, 1944, where she was involved with theater. She attended business school and worked at WHUM and WAGE Radio before her marriage to Richard "Dick" Oscar Becker. The two met on a trolley car in Reading following Dick's return from WWII and were together for the next 65 years. They were married in 1948 and moved around the country before settling in Wilmington, Delaware, where they raised seven children.

Dee was so proud to be a Catholic and was involved with the local church wherever she lived. She was on the founding committee for The Church of The Holy Child during its founding in North Wilmington in 1969. The parish got its name as a result of Dee being present when Delaware's General Assembly voted to repeal Delaware's anti-abortion laws and she presented the idea to her priest. The 1973 Supreme Court Roe vs Wade decision catapulted Dee into a life of defending the unborn and vulnerable, and she founded Delaware Right to Life as the organization's first president, as well as the Delaware Prolife Coalition. She continued her pro-life mission in some form until the day she died. Her tireless efforts led her to the Capitol Building, giving speeches during the many March For Life marches she organized as vice president, as well as meeting Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. She was a delegate to the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development held in Cairo, Egypt.

Along with her work in Pro-Life, Dee was on the board of Easter Seals and Birthright of Delaware, and received several awards for her social and religious work. She was knighted by Pope John Paul II into the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

Dee was preceded in death by her husband Dick in 2012, her sister Rita Larkin and family, and sons-in law Andy Leamy and Ralph Ray. She will be greatly missed by the children she leaves behind: Ann Becker Ray, Richard O. Becker, Jr., Mary Ellen Becker, Joan Becker, Carol Becker Leamy, Anthony Becker, and Patrick Becker (Darla); her grandchildren Nora Ludden, Jacqueline Ludden Nardelli, Christopher Ray, Martha Sturtevant, Sarah Becker-Marrero, Lauren Tigue Meredith, John Tigue, Giavonna Marquez, Brandon, Kevin, and Chase Leamy, Whitney Mitchell, and Isabella, Medeira, Nicholette, and Abigail Becker; and 25 great-grandchildren.

In addition to her family, she leaves an even larger legacy with the Delaware Right to Life, The Diocese of Wilmington, and the thousands of lives she changed along the way.

A memorial mass will be held on Saturday, August 14, 2021 at 11:00 am at Church of the Holy Child, 2500 Naamans Road, WIlmington Delaware, 19810. There will be a reception immediately following at the Hunter Barn, Bellevue State Park, 800 Carr Road, WIlmington, Delaware, 19809. Mass will be live-streamed. Go to www.chcparish.org and click on Live Stream.