Glenn Alton Beck

1930 - 2019

Glenn Alton Beck
June 2, 1930 - January 8, 2019

Glenn Alton Beck, age 88, died on Tuesday, January 8th, after a month-long fight with failing health. He was surrounded by loving family until the end, and will be dearly missed by all of his family and friends whose lives he touched so deeply. Glenn was born in Aspen, Colorado on June 2, 1930 to Charles Alton Beck, a third generation Aspen Grocer, and Alma Chisholm, a third generation native whose parents and grandparents had homesteaded on Snowmass Creek. As he grew older, Glenn would spend time in his grandfather's grocery store in the Wheeler Opera House (now a historic building in Aspen), or summers at his maternal grandparent's ranch on Snowmass Creek. Glenn became an avid skier, something which would remain a lifelong passion. Winter skiing turned into high school summers spent clearing trails for the newly formed Aspen Skiing Company. As the valedictorian of the Aspen High School class of 1948 and a competitive ski racer, Glenn earned invitations to some eastern universities on skiing scholarships with offers to train and compete in the Olympics, but ultimately Glenn chose to attend the University of Colorado. Upon graduating from the University of Colorado where he had studied Chemical Engineering, English Literature, Psychology, and German, Glenn was immediately sent to the Korean war where he served as a naval officer. After the Korean War and his discharge, Glenn attended graduate school at the Thunderbird School of Foreign Trade and was then hired as a plant manager by Armco Steel in Venezuela. Living in Venezuela for 7 years, Glenn formed one of his most enduring friendships with Orlando Jose Hidalgo who preceded him in death by only a year. In 1962, Glenn moved back to the U.S. to be closer to his children. Living first in San Francisco and then in Southern California, Glenn worked as a representative of Shell Oil Company. In 1967 Glenn struck out on his own taking over a small Shell fuel distributorship, starting his company Beck Oil, Inc. Beck Oil is now a very successful fuel and oil distributor, serving Southern California for 51 years with offices in Victorville, Apple Valley and Coachella. Glenn was extremely proud of Beck Oil's success and the staff of 60 people that work there. He continued to work at Beck Oil to the end, driving from Redlands to his Victorville office almost daily. It was in Southern California that Glenn discovered his love of exploring the desert on motorcycle. He loved the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico, and even into his 80s he enjoyed traversing the entire length of the peninsula multiple times by car and boat. Glenn always loved the sea and became an avid sailor owning several sailboats over the years with his good friend Dick Garrison. They were members of the Lake Arrowhead Power Squadron and competed in weekend races and sailing trips to Catalina and Baja California. Glenn would spend many weekends on his boat at Dana Point. Glenn spent the later years of his life, when not working, traveling the world extensively with his wife Betty, and visiting the two places that he loved the most, Aspen Colorado, his family home, and the Sea of Cortez in Baja California where he felt the most at peace. Glenn was preceded in death by his younger brother Paul; but, is survived by his sister Sandra, his loving wife Betty, his children Laurie, Wendy, Corey and Alexandra, as well as 11 grandchildren, 24 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandson, as well as many cousins, nieces and nephews. Glenn was laid to rest in a private ceremony at the Red Butte cemetery in Aspen Colorado. This cemetery has many generations of his family; Becks, Chisholms and Stewarts. A Celebration of His Life will be held Wednesday, January 30 in Redlands, California. Please contact Diane Wylie at dianew@beckoilinc.com for additional information.