Stanley David Becker

1938 - 2026

A resident of Healdsburg for 25 years, Stan Becker achieved a rewarding career and enjoyed a satisfying life in retirement.

Stan grew up in Brooklyn and Queens, New York and attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating in 1959 with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a commission as a lieutenant in the Army Reserve. After a stint with the Army Signal Corps, he became a field engineer working with radar systems for Bell Labs. In 1963, Stan moved to Silicon Valley to work for Ampex Corp, an innovative company developing television equipment. He would become part of history with his involvement as chief engineer in creating the very first video tape recorder and hand-held color video camera for use in broadcast television. He continued to be an innovator and helped to develop non-linear video editing systems. Later in his career he went out on his own and was an in-demand consultant where he was a pioneer in the transition from analog to digital recording. His work with SONY took him all over the world and he enjoyed spending time in Japan, Germany, England, and South America, usually accompanied by his wife at the time, Blanche (pre-deceased).

Prior to Healdsburg, Stan and Blanche lived in the heart of San Francisco in an elegant condo where they regularly entertained and had a wide circle of educated and artistic friends. They moved full time to Healdsburg in 2001. Stan joined the Healdsburg Museum as a volunteer in 2005 and served 8 years in leadership positions on the Museum Board. He was honored in 2015 for his outstanding volunteer service. Stan's most recent activities included collections management and providing content for the Museum's "flashbacks" column in the Healdsburg Tribune.

Stan pedaled to Windsor or Geyserville three mornings a week, joining a cadre of elder cyclists. He claimed that this exercise and camaraderie transformed his life six years ago. Stan's love of travel and bike riding led to epic cycling trips in France and Italy-- in his mid-80s –in the company of his beloved niece Mary Lynn Machado of Bowen Island, Canada and cycling friend and inspiration, Phil Hartlaub. He would have loved one more bike trip.

Stan died at age 87 of prostate cancer at home in comfort and dignity with loving assistance from longtime friends, Holly Hoods, the Hartlaub family, Cheryl and Steve Caletti, Linda Hunt and Sutter Hospice. Mary Lynn arrived in time to say goodbye. Contributions in Stan's memory can be made to the Healdsburg Museum, P.O. Box 952, Healdsburg, CA 95448 or Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Gifts Processing Center, P.O. Box 3164, Boston, MA 02241-3164 or https://giving.rpi.edu/